Miss Penny
by Sallychan-Stories
Summary: Alex is finally ready to take on that enormous bookshelf in his room, though he might need a little help from Pelican Town's designated tutor, Penny. As far as personalities go, the two couldn't be more different, but they do have something very unfortunate in common. (Rating will change)
1. Hors d'oeuvres

"Bye, Miss Penny!" Vincent waved back at her while he bounded off toward home, Jas close behind him.

Penny smiled a sweet yet tired smile and waved back gently. She loved teaching, but it was exhausting, and the stack of dishes and load of laundry she knew was likely waiting for her at home didn't help energize her much. She sighed quietly as she turned back from the corner of Willow Lane and began walking home. It would be so nice to get off of work and then be able to _relax_ at home, she thought; but that's life. If all went right, she would have enough money saved to move out next year—that thought always made her feel a little more hopeful.

As she walked past the Stardrop Saloon, she heard a voice mumbling. Pelican Town was a lovely place to live, but it was very humdrum, and almost monotonous at times. This mumbling wasn't something she'd grown accustomed to hearing in her two decades of residency in town, and definitely wasn't one of the usual voices she would hear from the saloon at this hour.

"Hor… horse… do-" The mumbling got a little more pronounced, now above a whisper.

Penny looked past the garbage-strewn yard and to the fenced off area that kept the rather large dog 'Dusty' corralled away from the public. As she looked closer, she could see an immaculately clean, white sports shoe sticking out from behind the corner of the fence. Curiosity got the better of her, and she snuck towards the fence to investigate. She stepped as quietly as possible along the pickets until she reached the corner.

"Horse… dove… do… over? Horse do-over? No!" Alex frowned in annoyance, shaking his head a little. "No that can't be right."

He traced his finger under the word again, trying to sound it out as he went. Penny was pleasantly surprised to see him with a book in his hands. Alex had lived in Pelican Town for a decade or so if she could remember right, and she had never seen him do anything but play sports and exercise. Though that might be because for most of that time he had been charted to the same school Haley and the other well-off kids went to outside of town, so she didn't see much of him until this past year anyway. She peeked around the corner more, crouching down to see what he was reading.

"Hours… do…." His voice was slow and concentrated. As Penny looked closer, she could make out the text on the page, and was sure she recognized what it was from.

" _Hors d'oeuvres!_ " Penny chimed in confidently. Alex jumped a little and turned to see his redheaded neighbor watching him with a gentle smile.

"What the—" He didn't get a chance to finish.

"The word. The one you're trying to pronounce—it's ' _hors d'oeuvres_ '. It's French." She smiled a little more nervously. Interacting with people her own age still wasn't one of her strong points. Interacting with people at _all_ still wasn't one of her strong points.

"Oh... _oh!_ Yeah, I've heard that before." Alex looked back to his book, studying the spelling again. "What a dumb way to spell it."

Penny laughed a little at that.

"Well its French, which is probably why you were struggling so much. All of their vowels are pronounced differently and um—" She paused a moment to study his face. Alex frowned down at the text, but not in an angry way. The expression reminded her of one Vincent might give her if he thought he was failing a lesson; maybe even _sad_. She started to feel anxious—maybe she had upset him.

"O-oh I, um…" She tried to collect herself more. "I didn't mean _struggling_ like—well _anyone_ assuming a word is English would—"

" _Augh_." Alex gave a groaning sigh and closed the book in annoyance. He propped his arms up on his knees and let the book hang from his index and middle knuckle between his legs. "I'm just not cut out for this _brainy_ junk!"

He knocked his head back on the wooden fence. Dusty gave him a snort in reply before going back to snoring. Penny felt her face getting hot and her chest start to tighten, just like it _always_ did when she tried to socialize. She knelt down onto her knees beside him, looking at the ground sadly.

"No, no! I'm sorry Alex. It was a poor choice of words. Sorry…"

"It's not _that_ , Red. It's just…" Alex hesitated, looking off at the river while he second-guessed himself. He had confided in that new farmer about his problem with books, and _that_ hadn't come back to haunt him at all. He couldn't imagine that telling a shy, shut-in girl about it could be any more dangerous than that. He pushed his lips out a little in thought before turning his head to look at her.

"This stuff." He took the book and shook it at her a little. "All this reading, literature, _whatever_ , stuff. I'm no good at it. I've been trying to read more, y'know, train the ol' brain instead of _these_ —"

He flexed his arm at her, unable to help himself from showboating at least a _little_. Penny could barely be surprised before he spoke again.

"—but I just keep struggling with it. It drives me crazy, because I don't _struggle_. Not with _anything_." He frowned at the book again. "Except for this."

Penny blinked, still a little red. She thought over what he was saying before shaking herself out of her thoughts.

"Well I think you're doing fine, Alex! That's… that's really good." She gave him her best teacher's smile. "You're reading _The Great Gatsby_. That's not a very easy book."

"It's not?" Alex looked at her with a confused expression.

"Oh… well, not particularly? Not if you're not a strong reader." Penny inched a little closer and gingerly took the book from him. She looked it over, appreciating that it did look worn and well-read, even if it wasn't by Alex himself.

"Aw! I thought since… well it's like, so small!" He sat up and squared it up with his thumb and index finger a few times in her hands. "It's not even an inch thick!"

Penny laughed at him pinching his fingers at the book's spine.

"A small book doesn't mean an easy book, Alex." She covered her laugh with her hand.

"Shoot. So I was basically jumping into a full body workout without even stretching first. Great." He knocked back against the fence again and blew some hair out of his face.

"Well, no, not necessarily." Penny smiled reassuringly. "I think you were doing very well. You just need to show yourself a little more patience."

Alex stared up at the sky for a few seconds, mulling over her advice. Penny watched him and felt herself deflate a little. She hated seeing someone who wants so desperately to learn beat themself up over not understanding the material.

"Um… if you'd like… I could tutor you." Penny tapped her fingers on the book's cover nervously. "Only if you want…"

"Tutor? You mean like… train me with books and stuff?" He turned to look at her again. Penny laughed awkwardly; it seemed like like the only thing he understands is sports lingo.

"Yes! Something like that." She brushed her bangs behind her ear nervously. "I tutor Vincent and Jas at the library on… Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until 2:00PM, but I could come over at 3:00PM on those days for private lessons, or earlier on—"

"Private training! Yes, that's great. Awesome!" Alex beamed at her and laughed before giving her a hearty pat on the back that was more like a jarring slap. He stood up, bringing her up with him. Penny could only squeak as she was abruptly straightened up and brushed off roughly.

"That sounds great, uh, um…" Alex paused a moment, realizing only then that he didn't know her name. He was pretty sure it started with a 'P' at least. "…Patsy?"

"…Penny." She smiled uncomfortably. Alex didn't seem to notice, laughing and patting her back again.

" _Penny!_ Yeah, thanks Penny." He smirked at her and took the book back from her. "I'll see you tomorrow then!"

He stuck his hand into his letterman's pocket and trotted towards his grandparent's house. Penny gagged a second and reached her hand out at him.

"W-wait! We didn't talk about…" She dropped her hand. "…payment."

She watched his door close and sighed to herself. Oh well, she thought. She would just have to tell him tomorrow that she does need to be _paid_. She started the short walk to her house and tried to be a little more optimistic. If he _did_ agree to pay her, then she might make her 'move out' goal even sooner than expected! It would be more work, but that extra paycheck would be great. She opened the door to the trailer and tried not to groan at the stack of dishes waiting for her in the sink.

* * *

 **AN:** I assumed drawing the fake cover for this fic that I'd never write it, but the more I get ideas for it the more I wanna write them down... so we'll see how far I get on this inspo train!

I never thought I'd be writing a Stardew fic for Alex OR Penny (I thought I'd do one for Abby/Seb if anyone...) but here we are! Lots of drama in store for these poor kids.

*Had to change some years in this chapter, because I didn't know Alex had been living in Pelican Town for 12 years at the start of the game! 0: My bad

**Going through and rereading the chapters to change minor stuff, so if you notice a change that's it! :)


	2. Personal Training

Alex leaned against the wall, watching Haley fixing her hair. She was definitely the hottest girl in town, and it was obvious to him why she would want him hanging around her house. Unfortunately, he would have to cut his visit a little short today. He checked his watch again, and saw it was almost 2:30PM. He clicked his tongue, debating if he could waste any more time before his first tutoring session. He swished his mouth, and eventually admitted to himself that he was cutting it close.

"Hey, I've got to head out. Got some important training to do." Alex smirked, trying to come off as cool as possible. Haley pouted at him, but didn't fight him on it.

"Aww, okay." She smiled up at him. "Don't work those muscles _to~o_ hard."

She giggled and gave him a hug. Alex swung an arm behind her back, giving extra attention to flexing his bicep against her before saying goodbye and seeing himself out. As he opened the front door, he was almost run down by two small children.

"Vincent, Jas! Be careful!" Penny called, jogging after them now. Vincent smiled bashfully at Penny, then nodding to Alex.

"Sorry, Mister." He shrugged nervously before ducking into his house. Alex quirked an eyebrow after him.

"Mister…?" He questioned to himself. Penny stopped by his side a moment, panting slightly.

"Sorry about that, they got a little riled up today at recess." She offered. Jas bounced a ways past Vincent's house.

"Come on, Miss Penny!" She urged while she ruffled her dress. Penny laughed tiredly, but nodded.

"I'm coming, Jas." She tried to fix her hair a little, then turned to Alex. "I'll be over as soon as I'm done taking Jas home, alright?"

Alex grinned at her and nodded.

"Sounds good." He turned tail and started walking the opposite way towards town. Penny only watched him a moment before quickly catching up to Jas and walking into the forest.

She couldn't help but notice now that he was coming out of Haley's house. She didn't want to assume anything, but television will tell you there's an obvious reason a handsome, muscular boy goes and visits a beautiful, bubbly blonde. Penny felt her stomach twisting, and a knot in her throat. Thinking about people her own age doing anything intimate always made her feel nervous, especially people she actually knew. It felt bizarre that she'd never experienced anything like that, and other people do it like it's as easy as breathing. She was _twenty_ and had never even kissed anyone! And Alex had probably—

Penny shook her head clear as she and Jas reached the ranch. Jas waved goodbye as sweetly as she always did and went inside, leaving Penny to her thoughts again. She did her best to ignore the nervous feeling in her stomach as she walked back past Haley's house. It didn't even matter if maybe they _were_ messing around in there, it just didn't! It's private business anyway, and she shouldn't get so worked up over something that doesn't even affect her. She was ashamed to always get anxious about those sorts of things—things that reminded her people can share themselves so intimately with others and not feel like their stomach is sick. She sighed as she reached her yard.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's fine!" Penny repeated in her head over and over while she walked to Alex's front door. She stepped her heel decidedly on the doormat of Alex's house and gave one final hard exhale. She knocked politely on the door before opening it and letting herself in.

"Hello?" She called out meekly, looking around as she stepped inside. She could see George watching TV in the living room, ignoring her, but Evelyn quickly shuffled out from the kitchen.

"Oh, hello honey!" The elder women smiled warmly. Penny smiled back and greeted her just as kindly. Evelyn had always been kind to her growing up, since she was steadfast on being everyone's grandma.

"What can I do for you, dear?" Evelyn asked, already making her way back into the kitchen. "A cup of flour? Maybe sugar again?"

Penny panicked a little and tried to follow her quickly.

"No, no, thank you Granny, but I um—" Penny tried to explain. Evelyn turned around, a little surprised. Penny smiled nervously and tried to laugh. "I'm here to um… tutor Alex? He didn't mention it?"

"Oh!" Evelyn's surprise turned to delight. "No, he hadn't, but that boy is always so busy-busy. That's wonderful to hear though, dear! He should be more focusing on his studies anyway. Go on ahead back to his room, I'm sure he's expecting you."

Penny thanked her and nodded before heading down the hallway. She had only been this far back into the house a few times, like when the trailer's bathroom plumbing had failed, and Evelyn offered her and her mom their bathroom to use until it got fixed. She had never been inside Alex's room, but she was pretty sure it was the one on her right-hand side. She wasn't as confident about entering his room as she had been about entering the house, so she decided to knock and wait.

"Yeah?" Alex called from inside. Penny thought his voice sounded far away, like if her mother was calling from the living room.

"Um… it's me, Penny." She spoke softly, hoping he would hear her.

"Oh hey!" His voiced called again. She could hear his footsteps thunk against the old flooring of the house before the door swung open. "What are you knocking for? Get in here, teach."

His smile was friendly, but it made Penny worried anyway.

"Sorry… I just didn't know if… maybe you were changing or—" She mumbled at the floor. Alex smacked his big hand against her back again, laughing and ignoring her awkward demeanor.

"You worry too much, girl! C'mon, desk's over here." Alex led her into his room with his hand still firmly on her back, and Penny quickly realized why he sounded so far away; this room was huge! It could easily be the size of her trailer's living room _and_ kitchen combined. And here she thought she was lucky to have her own room—Alex could almost say he has his own studio apartment. Alex plopped her down on one of the small stools in front of his desk, then grabbed a chair and turned it around, before straddling it and resting his arms over the top of it.

"So where do we start?" Alex looked at her excitedly and expectantly. Penny blinked at his posture against the turned around chair, then looked up at him. She breathed out, trying to calm herself down. She would just have to treat this like another job! Even if it was with a grown man, she was still just tutoring him, and that's the attitude she needed right now.

"Well, for starters…" Penny tried to sound authoritative but kind, like if she was speaking to Jas or Vincent. "You need to sit in your chair correctly."

Alex frowned at her, a little irritated.

"What's wrong with the way I sit?" The gruffness in his voice made her hair stand up a bit, but she did her best to ignore it. She cleared her throat again and kept her calm demeanor.

"It's important to have good posture while you read. You'll just end up with your arms falling asleep trying to hold a book in that position." She smiled, impressed with herself. That was the most clearly she'd ever spoken to a boy her age. Alex blinked in response then nodded slowly, like he was trying to process it. Penny smiled more—he really _was_ kind of like a child student.

"I guess that makes sense." Alex said while he got up and turned the chair back around. He plopped down and crossed his arms in a relaxed manor. "Okay, now what?"

Penny laughed into her hand. Was he expecting a checklist, and then he'd read very well? She sighed softly, and then cleared her throat again.

"Well Alex, I, um…" She held her own hand to try and be brave.

"…yeah?"

"Ahem, well, I didn't get to talk to you about this yesterday, but…" She looked up at him. "I… I will need payment for these lessons. I'm sorry if you thought they were free but, I do need to have… income, and—"

"Oh yeah, sure." Alex nodded nonchalantly, scooping up one of the books on the table and flipping through it. Penny blinked in confusion.

"What?" She asked quietly, thinking surely there was a misunderstanding.

"No yeah, I've looked into that personal trainer gig a few times—y'know, for after my pro gridball career. Do you know how much some of those guys make? It's ridiculous!" Alex laughed. "Just for helping someone do pushups!"

"Oh… um…" Penny stammered. Is everything athletics with this guy?

"So what's your hourly then? 20g an hour? 30g?" Alex smiled at her. Penny almost choked.

"N-no, _no!_ 10g an hour is fine—" Penny started, but Alex quickly cut her off.

"— _Ten gold!_ That's almost nothing!" Alex leaned in more. "No way. 15g an hour at least."

Penny didn't even know how to respond to that. She'd never heard of anyone arguing for the price of service to be _more_.

"But I… I mean it's… not _nothing_. I make 300g a week—" Penny couldn't even get that out.

" _No way_. I make more than that working at the ice cream stand in summer! You're a personal trainer, you should be raking in the gold!" Alex argued with her, leaning in more. Penny shrunk away a little, feeling her face heat up.

"I'm not a… personal—Alex are you sure? I mean I could use the money but…"

"Of course you could! Who can't use money?" Alex laughed again and rested up against the back of his chair. "Then when I'm famous, you'll be able to say how generous I am!"

Penny looked at him like he couldn't possibly be serious. The way he smiled at himself, however, made her consider that maybe he was.

"…alright." She managed, still breathless.

"Cool! Now let's get to work coach." Alex cracked his knuckles, then his neck, and rolled his shoulders around to loosen up. Penny shook her head in disbelief.

This was going to be the strangest job she'd ever had.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm churning these out like butter! I just wanna get to the drama already :3c

I feel like Penny probably has a lot of social anxiety, and could get very fixated on others succeeding where she is too awkward to even try… poor thing. And will Alex get any less arrogant? If you've done his heart events you already know that answer! :D


	3. Confidence

Penny smiled while she washed the dishes from breakfast. Her first tutoring session with Alex had gone very well the previous night, and she was almost _excited_ to start their second session this afternoon. He seemed very enthusiastic about reading, which was always a nice quality to have in a student. While she scrubbed grease off of a small frying pan, her mother Pam grunted comments at TV commercials.

"Joja has that new kinda beer now, Penny. That kind that's supposed to give you more energy!" She remarked, raising her voice so Penny could hear her over the running water. Penny rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Mother I don't think that works." She replied, rinsing the pan off. Pam scoffed a few times and argued the point to herself. Penny set the pan onto the drying rack with the other dishes and dried off her hands.

"You shouldn't buy into everything that Joja Company advertises, mom." She hesitated a second. "I don't think you should even buy _anything_ from them at all…"

"But those prices! You can get ten TV dinners for 50g—you can't beat that." Pam smiled to herself.

"Yes but… they're not very good for you—" Penny started, but her mother interrupted.

"—oh not all that nutrition talk, Penny! I ain't a little kid, I don't need 'milk for my bones' or any of that nonsense. Let up on it already!" Pam barked at her, getting irritated with her daughter's nay-saying. Penny sighed sadly.

"Yes, mother." She mumbled, before retreating back to her room. Her mother was impossible to reason with when it came to her health, or anything else she was steadfast on, really. At least today she didn't have tutoring with the children, so she could catch up on her reading.

She smiled as she picked up the current book she was reading. The library had many old novels, which could range from average life in a small town, to the daring deeds of adventurers. Willy had recommended a few of the lesser known books about the high seas to her when he dropped off a pamphlet of fishing tips years ago, and Marnie always recommended the latest romance story she was engrossed in—but right now Penny was working through a story about the daughter of a grumpy old rancher. The heroine was very brave, and confident, and it was nice to imagine what it might be like to have the guts to tell that bully ranch hand where to stick it. Penny slipped the book into her bag contently, then left her room to get a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Mother I'm going out, I'll see you tonight." She said, knowing full well her mother wouldn't arrive home until well after she was asleep in bed. Pam waved goodbye to her, and asked her to pick up some frozen food from Joja Mart. Penny felt a little guilty, knowing that she wouldn't, but her mother would be so drunk by the time she came home she'd have forgotten about asking for it anyway.

She walked out of the trailer and turned to head toward the cemetery. Her favorite spot to read was right beside it; the patch of greenery was perfect for a quiet place to read and enjoy the sound of the river in private. As she walked, she noticed Alex across the yard, throwing his gridball up into the air and then catching it over and over. Penny was used to that sight by now, but she had to admit she never paid much attention to him, mostly because she knew he paid no attention to her. He looked so focused, and you could tell just by how he flicked his wrist that he'd thrown that ball thousands of times. It was almost endearing, Penny thought, seeing him so invested in his passion. She waited another moment, then continued on to the cemetery, unnoticed by Alex.

* * *

Hours later, Penny was immersed in her book when she heard the sound of footsteps on the cobblestone path. She looked up and saw Sam walking from his house towards town. Penny gave a small smile seeing it was him—he was the only person her age, besides Maru, that she ever really spoke to. Sam had gone out of his way to make her feel included after he and his family had moved to Pelican Town, and even bothered to invite her to his birthday parties every year. Sam was humming something to himself happily, when he spotted her sitting against the cemetery fence.

"Penny!" He grinned and waved at her. "What are you doing over here so late?"

Penny's good mood had a small hiccup.

"…late?" Her voice already sounded nervous. "What time is it?"

Sam quirked an eyebrow at her urgent tone. He opened his phone to check again, even though he had just seen the time at his house.

"Almost 2PM, why?" He asked, confused. Penny gasped in horror.

"2PM!?" She gripped her book anxiously. Sam nodded, not taking her question as rhetorical. Penny quickly packed her book back into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She hadn't gotten so engrossed with a book that she'd missed lunch in a long while. If she didn't have tutoring with Alex, she could go home and have a late lunch, but once again, that's life.

"Thanks Sam, I've got to go!" Penny said goodbye quickly and hurried away. Sam turned his head to the side in confusion, before shrugging and continuing his stroll.

* * *

Penny trotted up to Alex's house, slightly out of breath. She was sure she had made good time and wasn't late for their tutoring session, but now she was starting to feel the results of not eating for a good six hours. Her stomach grumbled at her unhappily, but told herself she would just have to ignore it. It was her own fault for reading so late, after all. She let herself into the house again, feeling a little more confident about walking in unannounced.

"Penny dear!" Evelyn smiled at her excitedly. "You just missed lunch—here let me fix up a little something for you."

Penny's stomach whined appreciatively, but she didn't want to impose.

"No, thank you, Granny." Penny smiled back, though it wavered a little. Evelyn hummed contently, already in the cupboard.

"Oh don't be silly, dear." She smiled at her again, bread in hand. "I don't mind. Would you like a cookie, too?"

Penny laughed awkwardly, but it would be rude to continue to argue Evelyn's hospitality.

"Thank you, but maybe later, I should get to work—" Penny was interrupted by Evelyn piping up happily.

"Oh yes, yes, those reading lessons! Alex was talking about that at dinner last night." Evelyn smiled up at her. "He seems so excited about it. It's nice to see him talking about something besides sports."

Penny smiled back at her and bowed her head slightly.

"I'm glad to hear that." She smiled more, feeling her cheeks tingling. That feeling of being appreciated and doing good was the best part of teaching, in her opinion.

"You go on back, I'll bring you both some snacks." Evelyn shooed her away gently before returning to cooking. Penny walked down the hallway, feeling more cheerful now. With a boost of confidence, she swung the door to Alex's room open, only to gasp and stop dead in her tracks. Alex stood in the center of his room, curling dumbbells in each arm, and wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shoes and green gym shorts. He smirked watching the dumbbells reach his shoulders with opposite intervals, when he noticed Penny in his doorway.

"Oh, hey Penny." He grinned wide at her. "Is it 2PM already? I must have got caught up in my work out again."

Penny could only stammer, eyes fixated on his toned body. Alex didn't bother to pause, and continued his exercise, all the while ignoring Penny's reddening face. She had seen shirtless men before, of course, but Alex was the most muscular guy in all of Pelican Town—he looked like he belonged on a fitness magazine! And while she had seen him and some of the other guys shirtless at the beach or spa, being this close to him, watching his muscles flex with each movement, glistening with sweat—she had to look away. In fact, she had to turn all the way around and hold her face in her hands.

Alex did manage to notice that, and cocked his head to the side while he continued to lift his weights.

"Don't worry, teach, I'm almost done." He smiled again, assuming she was pouting because he wasn't ready to study. He counted out the final curls. "289… 299… 300!"

The weights landed on the floor with two loud thuds that made Penny jump slightly. Alex rolled out his shoulders and laughed a little, ready to brag.

"Pretty impressive huh? And I only stopped there because we've got training to do!" He approached her from behind and touched her shoulder. Penny turned her head back quickly on reflex, took one look at his naked collar and shoulders, and made a choked squeaking sound before hiding her face in her hands again. Alex was startled by the sound and started to step around her, leaning in to try and see her face.

"Hey what's the matter?" He placed his hands on the side of her arms. Penny peered past her fingers against her better judgement, and saw herself boxed in by rippling muscles. She squeaked again and squeezed her eyes shut, clasping her hands in front of her chest and turning her face away while Alex kept his hold on her arms.

"Alex!" Penny managed to gasp, still refusing to look.

"…yeah?" He frowned in concern. Penny could barely stand the genuine confusion in his voice.

"Don't you think there's anything inappropriate about being shirtless around someone like this!?" She raised her voice a little, managing to peek at him. She did her very best to stay focused on his face and nothing else. Alex continued his confused expression while his brain worked through her question, but quickly smiled after he understood.

"Oh what? What for?" He laughed, stepping back a little. Penny tried to stammer an explanation, but Alex continued. "You don't like _this?_ "

Alex dropped his hands from her arms, and flexed them down at his sides. Penny stared at him, unsure of what he was doing, until she saw movement on his chest. Her eyes flicked down naturally, and quickly widened when she saw his pectorals bouncing interchangeably, seemingly _at_ her. Alex smirked proudly, flexing each of them at a steady rhythm. He _loved_ putting all his hard work on display! Penny stared, mouth open and eyebrows twitching, for a few more horrified seconds, before letting a quick shriek past her lips and running around him and out of the room, horribly embarrassed.

Alex was shocked—he had never gotten _that_ reaction before. Usually they were squeals of _excitement_. He spun around and ran after her as fast as he could, which was much faster than Penny. She had barely made it to the front door before Alex caught up with her. When he grabbed her arm to turn her around, Penny immediately covered her face again, and did her best to continuously turn away from him, leaving Alex hustling in circles around her.

"Penny!" He laughed a little at her ridiculously allusive response to his awesome physique. "Hey, come here—!"

His chuckling and touching only served to make Penny try and retreat more into her hands and shoulders, bowing her head and trying to explain that she wanted him and his big muscles away from her. Alex managed to get his hands on her shoulders, and with his firm grip keeping her from turning her whole body away, he squatted and tried to get his face under hers so she would have to look at him.

"Alex!" Evelyn's voice came from the kitchen. Alex turned his head a little and smiled at his grandmother.

"Yeah, Granny?" His voice was lively from what he thought was playing with Penny. Evelyn huffed a little, puffing out her cheeks.

"Would you leave that poor girl alone! What are you doing to her?" She placed her fists on her hips. Alex looked confused again before smiling and trying to get his head under Penny's once more.

"We're just horsing around, Granny, it's okay!" He laughed again while Penny continued to burn. Evelyn looked at Penny's awkward, knee-in, face covered position unconvinced. She walked over while Penny continued to try and squeak out an explanation and wriggle away from Alex. Evelyn half got between them and shooed Alex away from her before taking Penny's hand kindly.

"Oh dear, are you alright? You're as red as a fresh garden beet." Evelyn's voice was gentle again, and she patted Penny's hand comfortingly. Penny continued to rub her face with her free hand, but nodded.

"Y-yes, I'm alright." Penny managed, though her voice shook. After a few more seconds of gathering herself she smiled more fully at the older woman.

"What has my grandson done to you? Was he trying to get you to kiss him? He can be so—" Evelyn couldn't even finish her question before both Alex and Penny erupted in denials; Penny in embarrassment, and Alex in insult from the idea of anyone running away from kissing him. Evelyn was surprised for only a second before laughing. She hummed knowingly and gave a soft laugh. "Oh, I see."

Penny straightened up a little, staring at her in shocked embarrassment. She hoped Evelyn didn't think there was something less-than-innocent happening here. The older woman putzed back to the kitchen, shaking her head fondly and humming to herself. The pair blinked after her before turning back to each other, and Alex quickly flashed her a smile.

"You're a riot Penny, y'know that? What were you even doing?" Alex laughed again. Penny sunk into her shoulders, mouth twitching awkwardly. Was he really that dense? There wasn't even a point in asking anymore, she thought. She sighed in exasperation and trudged back to Alex's bedroom. Alex hesitated for only a second, then jogged after her. Before he could speak to her again, Penny turned around, frowning at him angrily. Alex had never seen her with that expression before.

"Alex!" She whispered at him, wanting to keep her frustration private. "That was totally inappropriate!"

Alex only blinked in response.

"What?" He asked, confused. Penny groaned into her hand.

"Alex I'm your _tutor!_ You shouldn't be trying to… grab at me or… be shirtless near me!" She huffed, keeping her voice hushed. Alex waited a beat before laughing.

"Aw, you act like you're so old!" He laughed again and walked around her into his room. Penny stared off in disbelief of him completely ignoring her, before turning around and following him, intent on continuing her point.

"It's not that I'm acting _old_ , it's that this is a professional relationship and—" She started to argue, but ended up sighing while she watched Alex drying off his neck with a towel and probably not listening again.

"You are so uptight!" He remarked while he scrubbed under his chin. Alex set the towel over his shoulder and turned around to smile at her again. He walked up to her with that horrible air of confidence he had, making Penny shrink into her shoulders again.

"Hey, c'mon." He smiled more genuinely. "I know, I know, you'd never seen a guy this built before. It's cool! You can look if you want. You wanna touch?"

He gave her a flirty wink, and raised his chest up expectantly. Penny didn't even have the energy to squeak and run anymore, she just pushed her face into her hand, shaking her head in disbelief. This was the most arrogant, ignorant, obnoxious man she had ever met, hands down—the worst part being he was probably vindicated in all of it. She drug her hand over her face and rubbed her eyes hard before dropping it.

"Alex, I do not want to touch your—"

'—yeah you _do~o_." His smile was almost feline. Penny closed her eyes and begged Yoba for patience. The idea of touching his muscles with her bare hands was so scandalous she wouldn't even let herself indulge in the fantasy mentally.

"—No, I do _not_ , Alex." She huffed, blushing harder again. Alex grinned at that, before closing his eyes and rolling his neck around comfortably while she spoke. "You need to show me a… a- little more respect! I am your instructor, and um…"

She wasn't used to making demands, and her confident voice was already wavering. Alex smiled at her again and reached a hand out to rub her shoulder.

"Hey, hey…" His smile tried to be genuine, but was betrayed with a teasing look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to embarrass you."

The rumbling in his voice made Penny shiver all over. He slid his hand down to her forearm before letting it drop.

"I promise I'll behave from now on, okay 'Miss Penny'?" His smile widened into something more playful, and he swaggered over to his bathroom to finish cleaning up. Penny stared after him, watching his back while he moved until he had disappeared inside the bathroom. Her face burned hot again, and she managed to huff;

"…a-and put a _shirt_ on, for Yoba's sake!"

* * *

 **AN:** Oh boy, the sexual tension is a'coming. Penny's never been flirted with in her life… (Was that not obvious? Hah!) Alex is so arrogant it always cracks me up… poor Penny. How embarrassing!

For those that haven't bothered befriending/romancing Alex, there's a scene where you walk in on him lifting weights :3c I like to think that for all my in-game ships that they'd get some kind of variation of the cutscenes you do with them... if that gives you any hint to some key plot points ;)


	4. Confrontation

It had been a little over a week since the 'shirtless incident', and Penny was learning to be begrudgingly embarrassed instead of completely overcome by his behavior since. Mostly because now at each tutoring session, Alex thought it was funny to tease her one way or another. Apparently the way she acted while she was embarrassed had really struck his funny bone. Penny groaned, only mildly frustrated, and pressed up against the bench harder while she waited for Maru. She could really use the chance to vent to someone, and it definitely wasn't going to be to her _mother_. After another few minutes, Maru walked into the sectioned off area.

"Hi Penny." Maru smiled cheerfully and sat down beside her. "How are you? Work was a killer, my feet are aching."

Penny smiled back and laughed a little, trying to keep the mood light.

"I'm sorry about that." She brushed her bangs slightly. "Honestly I'm having a bit of a rough patch with work myself."

Maru was surprised at that and turned more toward her friend.

"Really? What's happening? Are the kids giving you a hard time?" She questioned.

"Oh, I _wish_ it was the kids…" Penny mused a little, before turning her head over her shoulder slightly and looking towards Alex's house. Maru followed her gaze and quickly realized who she was referring to.

"Oh! That Alex guy?" Maru scooted a little closer, trying to keep the conversation more private now. "What's he doing? Is he mean?"

Penny laughed a little and shook her head.

"No, not mean just… kind of… well…" She looked off again, trying to think of the right words. She sighed, deciding it was better to just tell her the whole story. Blushing while she spoke, she explained what happened days prior. Maru's face was shocked, and a little embarrassed too, while Penny told her about how brazen he had been about touching her and showing off his body. Neither girl had ever indulged much in the standard boy gossip, and it felt rather foreign.

"Oh my gosh, Penny! That's… that's like something out of a _romantic comedy!_ " Maru laughed while she spoke, also trying to keep the mood light. Penny laughed with her, shaking her head in disbelief of the whole situation.

"I know. But now he thinks it's _so funny_ that I get embarrassed about him being too close or touching me or _whatever_ now, so he'll go and try to touch my hand while we're reading or something, then laugh when I jump away!" Penny frowned in annoyance. Maru frowned too, concerned.

"That's not good, Penny. You should tell him to knock it off or you'll quit!" Maru crossed her arms defiantly. Penny sighed through her nose and shook her head.

"Well I mean, I…" She tried to think. "I guess the problem is I don't really… hate him _touching_ me, I'm annoyed that he's just… teasing me? I guess? I feel like he's just making a fool of me because I… I've never…"

Her voice started to get softer, and she frowned sadly. After a minute she looked up at Maru, who was frowning back at her sympathetically.

"Aw, Penny, don't let him get to you. Guys like that can be so awful!" Maru put a hand on her shoulder and shook her a little, trying to be encouraging.

"It's just… I don't know, sometimes it feels like… maybe he really _is_ flirting with me. And maybe I just don't know how to respond right or I'm totally missing it! But there's _no way_ I'd ever have the guts to flirt back oh _gosh_." Penny held her cheeks, mortified at the idea. She stared at her knees, trying to imagine it, which only served in making herself more embarrassed.

"Oh… well, I guess I wouldn't know what to do either. Like what if Dr. Harvey tried any of that with me? I'd probably think it was all accidental!" Maru snickered, and then laughed harder when Penny covered her mouth before rearing back up to laugh unstifled.

" _Harvey!?_ " She asked through laughter, and both were almost in hysterics imagining the awkward Dr. Harvey trying to be suave and flirty, or with a chiseled physique like Alex.

After a few moments the pair quieted down into giggling, and Penny felt all her worry eased away for the time being. They spoke for another half hour, then parted ways to start their nightly routines.

Penny returned to her trailer and began cooking dinner. As she stirred pasta noodles into boiling water, she tried to think about the past few tutoring sessions more clearly. Alex was making good progress, and he was so excited when he sounded words out correctly. The trouble came when he was bored with the story. It was then that he'd try and gently brush his fingers over hers while she held the book's pages, or lean his mouth a little too close to her temple. She'd even caught him giving her flirty looks—at least she _thought_ they were flirty. If she was being honest with herself, her only reference for that sort of thing was the soap operas her mother watched sometimes. She strained the noodles in the sink and stirred in tomato sauce, still thinking.

If it only happened when he was bored, then he was just using her as a distraction, like a toy or something else you might play with. She tried to not let that idea depress her too much, and continued her thoughts. She needed to find a way to keep him focused on the reading, and not use her as some way to get out of the lesson. She plated her dinner and decided that she would just have to confront him about it, even if the idea of confrontation made her stomach sick.

She sat at her desk and read while she ate, but couldn't help looking out of her window at the light blue house a yard away ever few pages. She had never paid much attention to Alex, and it felt a little weird to have him on her mind so often now. He was probably inside eating dinner with George and Evelyn, and then maybe he would work out again or take a shower before bed. Penny tried to not linger on the 'work out' or 'shower' parts, and groaned at her desk when her brain wouldn't listen. It was totally ridiculous to think about how attractive he was, because she had just come to the conclusion he was 'flirting' with her out of boredom! What was the point in indulging any kind of fantasy with him if there was no chance she would ever get intimate with him?

She hesitated on that thought a moment before pouting at her book shamefully. The idea of him holding her like the couples on those shows was beyond improbable but, wouldn't that be too wonderful; having a big strong man holding you like you're the most amazing, precious thing on Earth? She clicked her fork against her plate a few times before sighing tiredly.

She needed to go to bed.

* * *

Penny decided when she arrived at Alex's house that afternoon that she would wait until he did something 'flirty' before she confronted him about it. It would probably be more natural that way, rather than coming in barking demands at him. Halfway through the third chapter of a sports underdog novel he had chosen from his bookshelf, she got her chance. While she read a large paragraph describing the setting, Alex hunched a little closer to her, close enough that his breathing rustled the hair on her temple ever so slightly. She could almost feel his smile against her skin, and quickly ducked away with her shoulder to her ear. Alex laughed, like always.

" _Alex_." Penny huffed after wriggling her shoulders. He snickered and leaned an elbow on his desk.

"Yes, Miss Penny?" He smiled oh-so innocently. Penny stuck her lip out while she stared at him. He had taken up referring to her as 'Miss Penny' after he heard Vincent call her that for a second time. She felt like he only did it to tease her.

"Alex, that is enough." She closed her eyes, pretending she was speaking to a child and not a six-foot-something wall of toned muscles. She looked at him again, trying to be as serious as possible. "Distracting yourself from the lesson by teasing me is something I am _not_ going to allow."

Alex smiled more at her demanding tone and chuckled a little.

"I'm not." His expression changed into something flirtier. "You're just so cute, reading like that."

Penny stared at him in shock, and her cheeks started to heat up. Alex laughed again, and Penny was sure it was only because she was turning pink.

"Alex!" She turned to him more, trying to keep her serious tone. "That's not funny! I'm not… just… something to play with! You need to take this more seriously!"

Alex's eyes flashed playfully, and he leaned in more, making her gulp.

"I'm not playing, you're really cute." He grinned and tilted his head a little. "Do you know your eyebrow wrinkles just a little when you read di-a-logue?"

He put extra care into pronouncing 'dialogue'. Penny stared up at him, getting redder by the second. She wished so much at that moment she had a better intuition when it came to people—she couldn't tell if he was serious of not. She waited for him to laugh, or give her some kind of indication he was joking, but he just looked at her, waiting for a reply.

"M-my… eyebrow?" She mumbled, staring at him still. Alex laughed again and then picked up the book.

"Here, I'll read the next part, teach." Alex smirked, and leaned back in his chair. He started reading out loud, speaking as clearly as possible, but Penny was only half paying attention. She watched his jaw while he spoke, and how his eyes followed the words, all the while trying to process on what he had said to her. Was he really flirting with her then? It could be possible that he was still just teasing her but…

"How was that?" Alex turned to her, grinning confidently. Penny stared at him a little longer before smiling genuinely.

"That was perfect, Alex." She spoke softly. Alex set the book back on the desk, and let Penny hold down one side while he held the other.

"You think so?" He leaned a little closer, close enough to press his shoulder to hers. Penny hesitated a moment, but decided to not move away.

"Mhm." She nodded, relaxing more. "Let's continue with the next page..."

* * *

Penny hummed while she washed dishes that night, with an unfamiliar sense of giddiness. She felt a little silly for it, but she couldn't stop smiling. It probably _was_ silly, but no one had ever flirted with her before, and it really _was_ kind of like those romantic comedies Maru mentioned. And maybe it wasn't very realistic to fantasize about it, but even if it wasn't going to happen, what was the harm? It was nice to feel 'cute', like Alex said. She laughed a little to herself.

"Cute like Alex said…" She thought, feeling her heart beating just a tad quicker. Her mother laughed loudly at a program on TV and snapped her back to reality, almost scared.

Her mother could _not_ find out about this—whatever 'this' was. Penny had even gone out of her way to not tell her mother she was tutoring Alex. Pam got very suspicious of men around her only daughter, and Alex was certainly the least likely boy in town she would trust. If she knew about the 'shirtless incident', she would flip her lid! Penny could still remember how she had gotten furious at Sam for hugging her for 'too long' while he had a tank top on—a shirtless Alex chasing her around his house and now apparently flirting with her would do wonders for her mother's short temper. Penny sighed, trying to relax herself.

It was alright. She always had to keep little secrets from her mom; like feeling sad and unappreciated, or that she had purposely thrown out her liquor a few times. So this would just have to be one of those things, at least until she inevitably found out through word of mouth. Penny just hoped it would still be awhile, maybe even after the lessons were already _over_.

* * *

 **AN:** Oh Penny… secrets in a small town? Don't you read the books? (She has.)

I've been doing a lot of chapters from Penny's POV… I should start doing some from Alex's. Maybe next chapter…


	5. Unfortunate Similarities

Penny had confided in Maru about her latest meeting with Alex, and did her best to not sound like a bubbly school girl about it. Maru had teased her about 'crushing' on him, which she vehemently denied, but Alex didn't help her case much.

During the Egg Festival a few days later, she and Maru had been chatting by one of the tables like usual, when Alex came up to them and started trying to make conversation with Penny. Even though he was trying to talk to her while chewing mouthfuls of whole hardboiled eggs, Penny still felt horribly embarrassed with Maru watching. All of their meetings had been private until this point, except for the company of his grandparents every now and then. Alex was only laughing and telling her about the high protein content in eggs, but she could feel Maru's teasing smile beside her. After he had left, Penny looked to Maru only to have her suspicions confirmed. Maru's smile cracked wider before she erupted into a fit of laughter. Penny wanted to be upset with her, but couldn't help but laugh herself.

* * *

The following Monday, Alex waited in his room for Penny to arrive. The day before had been Haley's birthday, and he was still in a great mood from a little 'private time' with her in her bedroom after the party. He snorted confidently, resting on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. It felt great to be what he considered successful; tall, tan, handsome, athletic, popular with the ladies, professional career on the horizon—what else could you ask for? For a second, a twinge of doubt picked at the back of his mind. The doubt that would always pick at him because of his father's berating; that he wouldn't grow up to be anything, and would always be a failure. He scowled and shook his head clear.

"Like hell I will…" Alex mumbled to himself. Even the smallest memory of his father put him in a bad mood, so he tried to focus on daydreaming about stardom instead. Just when he got to his favorite part of the fantasy, the part where the crowd was chanting his name, the front door slammed and brought him back to reality. He sat up on his elbows, listening for anything amiss. There was some soft, frantic murmuring, then quick, light footsteps to his bedroom door. The door swung open dramatically and revealed a very frazzled Penny. She quickly dropped her book bag on the desk and started unpacking her materials as fast as she could.

"I-I'm so sorry for being late, I feel like such a scatterbrain." She tried to explain, speaking a little too fast. Alex watched her shaking while she tried to move, confused about what she was so worked up about. He looked to the alarm clock on his side table and it only read 2:20PM. Penny continued babbling. "I don't know if maybe it was the festival, or not having tutoring with you yesterday—but I just did my reading and then went right home and started doing chores instead of—"

"Hey, hey!" Alex sat up, tenting one of his legs and resting the other beneath it. He tried to smile comfortingly and opened his arms up to her. "What's the matter, Miss Penny, huh? C'mere."

Penny stood beside his desk, rubbing her arm and trying to calm down, before walking over ashamed of herself. Alex took her wrist and gave her a gentle tug, making her sit on his bed beside his knee. Alex sat up more, letting her use his propped up leg like the back of a chair.

"What are you all um…" He thought a moment, trying to pick his newly expanded vocabulary. "… _frantic_ , about?"

Penny sighed, shaking her head at the floor. Her posture was as closed in as she could be, with her shoulders bowed in and her hands in her lap.

"I'm… late for our lesson?" Which is totally inexcusable since I live so close—" Penny's muttering was interrupted by rough rubbing on her back. Alex did his best to keep a gentle smile, but he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Geez, Penny. You get so worked up over every little thing." His hand started to rub against her back more softly. Penny felt her face flush, growing more ashamed by the minute.

"You're paying me by the hour, Alex. And if I'm twenty minutes late…" Penny murmured, but Alex only shook his head.

"You're fine!" Alex laughed, jostling her shoulder. "You'll just have to work late tonight, eh?"

"O-oh I… well…" Penny thought for a moment, trying to schedule it in her mind. "…I supposed I could, then just wash the dishes and pick up the house for a little later than usual. Then start dinner at…"

Alex cocked his head, watching her speak.

"I thought you were late because you were doing the dishes?" He questioned.

"I stopped the minute I realized I was late, of course!" She replied, almost defensively. Alex still looked confused.

"But isn't it just you and your mom living there? How much cleaning could you have to _do?_ " His question seemed to only surprise, then sadden Penny. She played with her hands a while before responding.

"…well, when you're… um… the only one cleaning, it can pile up pretty quickly…" She mumbled again. Alex blinked in surprise before pressing further.

"You clean the _whole house_? _And_ work? And then make dinner too? Isn't your mom out of a job right now anyway? She should be cleaning or cooking, since you're working." Alex always figured Pam and Penny were kind of a duo, even if Pam was always drinking. Penny squirmed uncomfortably and turned away. She didn't really like talking about her home life.

"…we should get to work, Alex." She mumbled before getting up and heading to his desk. Alex watched her while she shuffled through papers, feeling a strange sensation of pity. All this girl does is work! No wonder he hardly ever sees her at parties; she was paying for and picking up after her mom all the time! After a minute, he got up and followed her to his desk.

He watched her saddened face while she started explaining the lesson plan for the day, and decided he was going to try and cheer her up. She was much cuter blushing and laughing awkwardly, after all. He did his very best to stay attentive during the reading, which she seemed to like a lot. And then during his grandmother's insisted snack break, he offered something he was only half-sure about.

"…hey." Alex started, chewing on a cookie. Penny looked up at him, chewing on one herself.

"…yes?" She covered her mouth politely, which made Alex smile. He shook his head a little, still unsure, but decided to offer anyway.

"Hey uh… why don't I help you clean up a little… like at your house. Since you're so busy and all." He looked off while he spoke, trying to seem aloof. In his experience, girls liked that. Penny blinked in surprise.

"Oh!" She swallowed before continuing. "Alex I, I couldn't ask that of you…"

Alex snorted and laughed in his throat before turning to her again. Penny was looking at him with that doe-eyed, uncertain look she had that he thought was almost comically adorable. How could he turn back now?

"It's no problem, _Miss Penny_." He grinned wider. "You could use a break."

Penny smiled back with her eyes shining despite herself. She laughed softly, unable to look at him.

"Um… well… that would be really nice." She peeked at him again, smiling fully. Alex smirked, feeling proud for turning her mood around so completely.

* * *

Alex walked beside Penny, who was clutching the strap of her book bag like a stress reliever. She was still blushing and smiling, something Alex was fairly proud of, but she also seemed very nervous. As they reached the trailer steps, she turned back to him.

"The um… the house it pretty messy." She said with an apologetic tone. Alex chuckled and nodded like he understood. Penny tried to laugh too, but it came out awkward.

She turned back to the house and opened the screen door, then pushed in the front door while she stepped inside. She held it a moment for Alex, whose hand quickly replaced hers as he stepped in after her. The screen door clicked behind him, and he stared into the trailer's living room in disbelief, still holding the side of the front door. Penny couldn't even bear to see his expression, and quickly walked to her room to drop off her bag. When she returned, Alex had closed the door and was looking around.

He knew the inside of the trailer would be small, but Penny really hadn't been kidding about the mess. How could it get so messy with just two girls living in here? He thought girls were supposed to be clean. Penny returned to her regular meek demeanor.

"Alex I really appreciate the offer but… if you don't want to—" She started, but Alex quickly interrupted.

"What, _this?_ " He laughed boisterously. "This is nothing! Just some dirty clothes? You've never been inside a men's locker room, huh?"

Penny blinked, surprised by his returned confidence, before smiling appreciatively.

"No, I suppose I haven't." She laughed softly and scooped up a laundry basket. "If you could, would you just pile the clothes in here? I'll start the dishes."

Alex took the basket from her and felt an odd but comforting sensation. This is probably what being a married couple would feel like, he thought—helping out the wife with chores because you're a good husband. Well, he wasn't a husband or anything, but it did make his chest feel like it was brimming with masculine pride. He picked up clothes off the floor and table, doing his best to touch them as little as possible, and tossed them in the basket. He even did a few trick shots, which made Penny giggle from the kitchen. He had no idea why that make him so excited, but girls giggling was always a good thing, so that was probably it. He propped the now full laundry basket on his hip and sauntered back over to Penny. He popped his hip out when he leaned against the counter to smile at her, and rested his left foot behind his right ankle.

"Anything need cleaning in _your_ room, Miss Penny?" He grinned more flirtatiously, making Penny giggle again.

"No, my room is nice and clean, thank you, Alex." She smiled up at him. Suddenly, the trailer door opened, making them both turn. Pam stood in the entryway, surprised to see the trailer in such immaculate condition, then noticed Alex holding the laundry basket. She realized that he must have helped Penny with her chores, and felt her pride burning immediately.

"What the— _whaddya think you're doin'!_ " Pam growled, voice rising louder. "Stop it, I had everything the way I like it!"

Penny felt her face heating up in embarrassment at her mother's behavior, and Alex was so shocked that he dropped the basket. He'd only known Pam to be a loud laughing drunk, and the only time he had ever heard her speak about Penny was in praise. Maybe she didn't speak about Penny like she was the best thing on Earth, but she did seem protective of her at least. Penny dried off her hands quickly and stepped forward, trying to be calm lest she infuriate her mother more.

"Mom the house was such a mess, Alex was just helping me tidy things up a bit." She offered, but hesitated when she stopped in front of her. She smelled the air, which wreaked of alcohol. She winced a little before speaking again. "Have you been at the saloon? You smell like beer…"

"It's none of your _damn_ business where I go!" Pam barked at her. Instead of shying away like Alex expected, Penny frowned angrily and stepped forward again.

"It _is_ my business! I don't want you destroying yourself!" She huffed. "Can't you see your choices affect me? You need to stop being so selfish!"

" _Selfish!?_ _I'm_ selfish? I put a roof over your head, and clothes on your back, and I'm selfish!? You ungrateful little—" Pam growled at her, making Penny back up a little. She was used to her mom's nasty temper, but what she didn't expect was Alex stepping forward, almost shielding her from Pam.

"You do _what_ for her?" He glared down at Pam angrily. Pam was surprised to see him step in, as was Penny, but Alex couldn't stop himself. "Penny does _everything_ in this house, and you're just going to come home drunk and yell at her for cleaning up your mess!?"

Alex disliked alcoholics as it was, but abusive, mean alcoholics he detested. The way Pam spoke to Penny reminded him too much of some childhood memories he wished he could forget. Pam scowled, furious now.

" _What did you just say to me?_ You little _punk_ , where do you—" Before she could get any closer, Penny wedged herself between them and backed Alex up to the counter again.

"Alex!" She spoke barely over a whisper, but very urgently. "Alex, please stop. It's okay."

He stared past her at Pam, then looked down to her. Penny's eyes were desperate, begging him to not fight with her mother over this. Alex breathed through his nose, trying to relax, but he was livid. He hadn't been this angry in a long, long time. He looked back at Pam, then to Penny again. She pushed her hands on his arms, trying to rub his anger down, but she had no experience calming down angry men.

" _Please_ Alex, just go. It's okay, really." She urged him again. He wanted to say so much to her in that moment, but not with her mom there. He glared up at Pam and sneered, but finally complied and left, stealing a final glance at Penny before the door shut.

* * *

Alex tried working out that evening, hoping it would calm him down, but he still spent a good portion of the night lying awake and thinking. Thinking about his parents, and how his father always spoke to his mother the way Pam did to Penny when he was drunk. Imagining Penny, all these years, hiding away in her room from her mean, drunk mom really hit him in the gut. Penny was the most meek, unconfident person he'd ever known, and he was starting to see why she might act like that. He couldn't stand it.

The next morning, as he left home with a plastic bag of steaks hanging from his elbow, he was lucky enough to catch Penny leaving her trailer. As she started to walk towards town, he called out to her.

"Hey!" He tried to keep his voice quiet, despite yelling across the yard, just in case her mother might be nearby. Penny turned to see him jogging across the trash riddled yard and to her, and quickly looked down shamefully. As Alex reached her, he set a hand on her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Hey…" He tried again, softer than before. "You alright?"

Penny hummed in reply, still unable to look at him after yesterday's fiasco.

"…yes, I'm alright." She said finally, though it was painfully hollow. "I'm so, so sorry about yesterday, I—"

" _You're_ sorry?" Alex asked in disbelief. Penny finally looked up to him, and he noted her eyes looked much more tired than normal. He frowned at that, and she tried to bow her head again, but his hand caught her chin and tilted it back up. "Penny you don't have a _damn_ thing to be sorry for."

Penny stared up at him, transfixed in the confidence he had when he said that to her.

"I… but I drug you into all that mess…" She lowered her eyes. Alex frowned again and looked to the trailer. He waited a beat before sliding his arm behind her back and leading her away.

"C'mon." He mumbled, trying not to glare at the trailer while they walked. He led her to the pathway between the saloon and Dusty's fence, thinking that would be enough cover for them to speak privately. Penny pulled on her bag's strap awkwardly while Alex looked around. He snorted when he was sure no one was nearby, then turned his attention back to Penny.

"…Penny what the _hell_." He leaned down more, whispering. Penny frowned, unable to look at him again.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered back, but Alex only shook his head.

"Don't apologize! Penny, why in the world are you still living there? If I had known your mom talks to you like that—"

"It's alright, Alex." Penny mumbled and finally peeked up at him. "My mother can be… _brash_ , but she raised me all by herself. She paid for everything we had before the bus service was cut, so now it's my turn to take care of her."

Alex frowned, unsatisfied with that answer.

"There is _nothing_ 'alright' with the way she treats you—don't make excuses for her!" His voice rose more than he wanted it to, and he felt a little guilty when Penny lowered her head again. He tried to take deep inhales through his nose in an attempt to calm down, but ended up resting against the fence instead. He laid his forearm above his head on the fence, looking through a knothole in the fence at Dusty sleeping. After a few more seconds, he spoke again.

"Listen, Penny…" He hesitated. "…look, I don't tell a lot of people about this but, well…"

Penny looked up to him, almost curious now. He had such a faraway look in his eyes, and he looked uncharacteristically serious. She stepped closer, watching Dusty through a lower hole in the fence. Alex sighed.

"…my dad, he… he was a bad guy. He ruined everything for me and my mom." Penny watched his eyes flicker with the anger she saw the night before. Alex turned to her. "And he would say stuff to us, mom and me, like the way your mom talks to you."

Penny looked up to him in surprise, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Alex looked back toward Dusty.

"He'd always yell at mom, telling her nothing she did was good enough, and me—he'd always like to call me 'worthless'. That I wouldn't amount to anything. I think he was jealous, because I was so young, y'know? I had my whole life ahead of me, and he had wasted his guzzling booze." He paused again. "But who knows what was going on in his _fucked up_ head."

"Alex…" Penny was breathless. The revelation was so powerful, she couldn't even bring herself to care about the foul language. She moved closer to him, and gently set her hands on his arm. "Oh Alex, I'm so sorry. I had no idea…"

Alex looked down at her with an expression Penny couldn't pinpoint. After a minute, he shook his head gently and sighed.

"That was a long time ago." He looked up to her again. "But what's happening to you? That's right now, Penny."

He took his free hand off of the fence and held her arm, rubbing it supportively.

"My mom never was able to get out. She got sick and passed away, then I moved back here with my grandparents. But you've still got your whole life ahead of you, Penny. You're really smart, and you don't need to be putting up with that, whether it's your mom or not."

Penny looked up at him, blushing from his sincerity. No one had ever spoken to her like that in her life.

"I…" Words seemed to escape her. She smiled at him with more appreciation that Alex had ever seen from anyone. "Thank you, Alex. I… I'm trying to save up enough to move out soon…"

Alex smiled, happy to hear that.

"Oh yeah? That's good." He nodded, and gave her arm another squeeze. "You're gunna do great."

Penny laughed, overwhelmed by all his praising. She wanted to thank him for sharing his own experiences with her, or maybe for instilling a bit of confidence in her, but Alex decided to change the mood a little. He laughed and pulled a steak out of the plastic bag.

"Hey, wanna see something funny?" He grinned wide, and held the steak over the fence. In an instant, Dusty jumped awake and was pawing frantically at the fence trying to reach it. Alex laughed at his desperate whining, and Penny, though shocked at first, started laughing too.

* * *

 **AN:** Oh the drama… these poor kids! :( We're getting into the meat of this ship folks! What better way to bond than horrible, childhood trauma?

This chapter had both Alex and Penny's four heart events in it, for those that don't know! ;) I can't make this cheesy stuff up _all_ on my own. I did paraphrase a bit though… no fun in reading it verbatim, right?

More drama awaits us in chapter six!

And a special thank you to all the reviewers! JadeSkull16, StardustxAngel, Bittermahogany, KamuNappy, and ALL of the beautiful guests; I'm so happy you're all enjoying the fic so far! I'm having quite a bit of fun writing it, especially now that we're getting to the _angst!_


	6. Wild Accusations

**AN:** This chapter has some pretty foul language in it, just as a warning!

* * *

Alex woke up to the smell of frying eggs and hopped up excitedly, thinking his grandma was making breakfast. He didn't bother to change out of his pajamas, which consisted of sleep pants and an old t-shirt, and walked down the hall toward the wonderful aroma of food. He stepped into the kitchen, and was surprised to see Penny alongside Evelyn, lovingly sliding a fried egg from a pan onto an already full plate. He watched them chatting and laughing together, and then watched Penny pick up the plate and turn towards him. She gasped a little when she saw him, but quickly laughed it off.

"Oh, Alex!" Penny smiled, still laughing softly. "You startled me!"

A corner of his mouth quirked up in interest while she walked to him with more pep in her step than he was used to seeing. Penny shrugged her shoulders up and presented him with a big plate of breakfast foods—pancakes, hash browns, two fried eggs, and a couple sausages.

"I made you breakfast." Penny looked up to him. "Your grandma helped me a little… she said this is your favorite."

Alex was surprised by that too, but who would turn down a breakfast that good? He let out a boisterous laugh and took the plate from her.

"Wow!" He smiled and looked it over. "What's the occasion?"

Penny seemed a little surprised by the question, but quickly bowed her head and smiled at the floor.

"Just… as a thank you. For yesterday…" She spoke softly, hoping Evelyn wouldn't hear. Alex raised his eyebrows a moment, then smiled wide. He wanted so badly in that moment to tease her, but he didn't want his grandparents poking around either. Instead he happily took his plate to the table and started eating like he was starved. Penny joined him, sipping on a cup of coffee that was more creamer than coffee. Evelyn shuffled over and lovingly set a tall glass of milk by Alex's plate, and patted his head like he was still a child. She had already tried to insist on breakfast to Penny, but Penny had told her she had eaten at home.

So instead she watched Alex eat the breakfast she had made him with a look of shy admiration. He was a messy eater, with syrup and yolk dripping from the corners of his mouth and off of his bottom lip, but she thought there was something endearing about it. It fit his character in her opinion, and it was nice to see someone so thoroughly enjoying a meal she made. When Alex paused to take a gulp of milk he noticed her watching, and suddenly felt a tad self-conscious. As far as he knew, girls didn't like messy stuff, like food all over your face. He tried to smile with a mouthful of milk, then swallowed and wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Heh, sorry about that." He hummed and sucked the mess off his knuckle. "It's really good."

Penny felt her cheeks warm at that and grinned at him.

"It's fine. You're not any messier than my mother." She giggled softly. "She usually _burps_ too."

Alex laughed with a mouthful of pancakes, making Evelyn scold him for his poor manners in front of 'such a nice young lady'.

* * *

Alex had done his very best to tease Penny when she had returned that afternoon for their tutoring session, and was looking forward to teasing her again at today's session. He was finishing up his assigned reading when she arrived, and he greeted her with as much enthusiasm as usual. Penny however, seemed a little faraway, which concerned him immediately. He got up from his bed and took his seat beside her at his desk, watching her closely. She was looking through papers, and seemed to be unable to focus and find exactly what she was looking for. She shook her head and rubbed her forehead to try and concentrate, and Alex noted an unusual sadness in her eyes.

"…hey, you alright?" He leaned closer, already starting to suspect more trouble with her mother. "Did something happen?"

Penny turned to him, knowing full well that he was asking about her home life again. She shook her head gently and tried to smile.

"N-no, no. I'm just a little tired, that's all." She offered, not wanting to divulge too much. Alex's expression hardened and he remained fixated on the sad look in her eyes. He had seen that look before, and heard the same excuse; from his mother. He could almost hear her voice echoing softly in the back of his head, a memory of his younger self asking her what was wrong, and her, trying to protect him, telling him she was 'just tired'. He knew even back then that it was a lie.

"Penny." His voice was serious and made her nervous. "What happened?"

She tried to keep eye contact with him, but her gaze quickly fell to the desk. Her fingers gripped at her skirt, tugging at it for comfort, in hopes it would help her be brave.

"…it's just my mother." Penny mumbled, already uncomfortable talking about it. "She's just… well…"

Alex leaned forward more and held her arms, turning her towards him. He had never felt so protective of a person before, and he was convinced if she told him he would be able to help in some way. Penny looked up to him and felt shame for both wanting to tell him and wanting to hide her feelings. She hated the idea of being a burden, and felt strongly that her and her mother's relationship was no one's responsibility but her own—but she had also never had anyone so insistent on helping her, and the idea of having a confidant did make her feel less alone. She still hesitated, not knowing how he would react.

"She's… she's convinced that… you and I, well, because of the other night when you…" She murmured, trying to find the right words. "Ever since that night you argued with her, she… she thinks we're… involved."

Alex blinked in surprise, and Penny could only lower her head in shame.

"She keeps… insisting that I'm coming over here to…" Penny hesitated. Her mother would say 'screw around', but she couldn't say that herself. "… _fool around_ with you. She acts like I'm just driven by hormones and that I'm letting you… use me."

Alex frowned at that and gave her a gentle shake, but Penny couldn't bear to look at him. She didn't know if the suggestion would anger him, or he would find the idea completely comical, but either way it would sting. Alex sighed and started rubbing her shoulders, not knowing what else to do to comfort her.

"That's ridiculous! You're Miss Goodie-Goodie, you're like the _least_ likely person in town to go, er… 'fool around' at a guy's house." He argued to her. Part of him was caught up in the concept of them being involved the second she said it, but he knew the mood was too sensitive right now to say anything about it directly. She could be so shy sometimes, and he didn't want her to stop telling him what her mom was doing, even if the problem included him. Penny looked up, already nodding.

"I know! But my mom she just…" She sighed. She knew her mother was just trying to protect her, even if it was in a really roundabout, awful kind of way. Shame was an excellent way to make your child stop behavior you deemed unacceptable, even if it was emotionally cruel. She suddenly felt terrible for trying to complain about her mother, and refused to continue. Alex didn't understand why she was shut off again, and continued trying to argue his point to her.

"Penny, don't listen to your mom. You're doing me a whole lotta good!" He grinned at her in hopes it might cheer her up. "I've never read so much in my life! And it's thanks to you."

Penny smiled up at him, but he could still see an amount of reserve in her eyes. His mouth pulled to one side in thought. The idea of her hiding away from her mom in that dinky little trailer was still something he thought about too much now, and figured that might be something he could help with. He leaned in again.

"Hey, listen. If… if things get too heavy over there, you're more than welcome to come over here." He kept his voice low. Penny seemed shocked at the offer.

"Oh! I… I couldn't! I couldn't ask that of you Alex I—" She stammered, but Alex quickly interrupted.

"You're _not_. I'm offering it. And I _mean it_ , Penny… if you need somewhere to be, even if it's late, you can come here." He looked her dead in the eyes, and she was too taken to look away this time. After a moment she bowed her head and shrugged a little, trying to gather herself.

"Alex… I… I really don't think…" She mumbled, unable to even imagine it. Alex snorted a laugh through his nose and jostled her shoulder a little rougher before sitting back in his chair.

"I'm not saying you _have_ to, I'm just saying… if you ever need to, I'm here." He looked off, thinking that too much sappy stuff would make him look less cool and more like a dork. Penny watched him with returned admiration, and a small smile slowly formed on her lips. She brushed her hair back shyly and straightened up.

"…thank you, Alex." She spoke barely above a whisper. Alex peeked at her and smirked, happy to have her blushing again.

* * *

That week something rather unexpected happened; Sam announced to everyone that he and the new farmer, Josée, were getting married.

The town was abuzz with gossip of the future bride and groom, but Penny had little time to join in. Besides congratulating Sam when he had told her the news, she had too much to do to indulge in the fun of talking about the upcoming wedding. Her mother wasn't making her busy days any easier either, since she was now beyond convinced that she was sleeping with Alex. It was humiliating, and the fighting was getting a lot worse, mostly because Penny refused to stop tutoring Alex. Regardless of what her mother thought she was doing, that extra paycheck had become so helpful that she was now unwilling to give it up. But Pam wouldn't let up, and tonight was no different.

"Going to see your little _boy-toy_ tonight?" Pam slurred with an irritated tone, already very drunk. Penny breathed through her nose, trying her best to remain calm despite her growing frustration with her mother.

" _No_ , mother. I've told you, there is nothing going on between me and Alex." Penny sighed, rolling a length of her still wet hair around a sponge curler. What sense would it make, even if she _did_ have a relationship with Alex, to ask such a question when she was putting her hair up in curlers for the night? She continued rolling her hair onto curlers until there was a neat row of them along the back of her neck, then she placed a folded bandana against them and tied it at the top of her head, all the while listening to Pam's ranting.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Penny!" Pam shouted her name, and Penny could only shake her head and continue getting ready for bed. It felt like she had said that a hundred times now.

"You think he _cares_ about ya? _Hah!_ " She could hear her mother take another swig from her bottle. "He doesn't. He just wants a quick _fuck!_ "

Penny's stomach tightened at the foul language. She knew her mom was just prattling on in a drunken state, but the comments about Alex not caring about her did actually upset her. It was not like she could tell her mom that she bonded with him about having an alcoholic and absent parent, which would be a very good reason to think he _does_ care about her. She groaned under her breath and walked out from the bathroom to the living room.

"Mom, _please_ stop. You'll wake the whole town!" Penny huffed, still trying to be mature despite Pam's wild accusations.

"Oh, would you rather it be _you_ while you're screaming for him like a little _whore?_ " Pam sneered and tried to sit up more. Penny couldn't help but be disgusted.

" _Mother—!_ " She raised her voice, but Pam raised hers higher.

"That's what you are, you know? A little whore!" Pam pointed at her accusingly, and Penny had to bite her jaw to not retort. "You're gunna get pregnant and he's gunna run off! Is that what you want? To make the same _stupid ass_ mistakes as me?"

Penny's eyes widened angrily, and tears started to prick at the corners of her eyes. Her jaw was shaking enough that she knew her voice would crack horribly if she tried to argue more, so instead she retreated to her room and slammed the door shut. She could hear Pam continue her tirade, but it was too muffled to hear clearly. Penny quickly turned off her light and curled up in bed, squeezing her pillow to her face and trying her best not to sob.

Her mom would berate her often, but she had _never_ spoken to her like she had since Alex intervened. She could barely stand it, especially when she would imply that getting pregnant with her had been nothing but a horrible mistake and an inconvenience. She had always feared that, but apparently it was very true. Penny turned her face up from the pillow to take a breath, and found her nose was already stuffy. She winced and trembled a little, letting tears fall more openly. She hugged her pillow tighter, and tried to think of what Alex said to her.

She _did_ deserve better than this, but what could she do? Pam was her mother, mean and dealing with alcoholism or not. She wanted to move out, but she had no money to do so. She was stuck.

Penny rolled over to face the wall and squeezed her pillow to her chest. The past few nights had been so awful that she was starting to really consider Alex's offer to come to his house. But it was already 9PM, and she didn't want to wake up Evelyn and George. And even though he was the one that had offered, she couldn't stand the idea of burdening him with a silly, crying girl in the middle of the night. Part of her told her that Alex was right, and that her needing comfort wasn't a 'burden', but it was so much easier to just comfort herself and go to bed and not bother anyone with her problems. She could see him tomorrow, and he would make her feel better without even knowing it.

She heard a bottle smash and squeezed her eyes tight. She didn't _want_ to wait, she wanted to see him _now_.

* * *

 **AN:** Cliffhanger! Not really, since the next chapter is being posted today too. This chapter got so long (5k words!) that I decided to split it into two, just to make it easier to read. I don't know about anyone else, but on my phone always refreshing randomly, and re-scrolling through walls of text is _beyond_ un-fun.

In case anyone doesn't recognize, Penny gave him the "Complete Breakfast" (which he Loves). I did take some liberty by adding sausages though, but, I figure they'd be included if Stardew allowed you to cook with meat that isn't fish.

 _Bittermahogany_ , thank you! I feel you, school's bogging me down too. And oh, he will get a lesson indeed ;)

 _ApertureGaming011_ , ahhhh I'm blushing! Angst is always fun for me to write, I'm glad it's not coming off too corny :D

 _KamuNappy_ , I think so too! The more I dig around in the wiki and in-game, the more random similarities I find between Alex and Penny… it's almost bizarre. I wish ConcernedApe had touched on it a little in-game! ): They are next door neighbors after all.

 _rezi & Guest_: THANK YOUUU I'm so happy you're enjoying the story. It's the way Alex and Penny mesh is pretty natural as is, so the writing is going quickly :3c


	7. A Confidant

Penny waited until Pam's drunken babbling was replaced with the familiar sounds of her snoring before she crept out of her room. With the TV to drown out the creaking of the front door, she snuck out of the house and across the yard as fast as she could. She stepped on a few cans and some other things she couldn't make out in the dark, but quickly made her way to Alex's front door. She hesitated for only a second before opening it as hastily and quietly as possible. After shutting the door behind her with care, she walked down the hall to Alex's room with a head full of self-doubt. She stopped at the door to his room with her nerves frayed.

This was a horrible idea, she thought. He was probably fast asleep in there, and she came over to wake him up and cry all over him. She couldn't stop thinking how selfish she was being and how silly this would all seem when she tried to explain it to him, but her hand shakingly reached for the doorknob anyway. Once the door was open enough for her frame to fit inside, she saw Alex's figure sit up in bed in the dim light, and knew there was no turning back now. She had wanted to come over and calmly explain what was going on, but just seeing a vague shape of him was already making her eyes water again. She rushed inside and couldn't even bother to be embarrassed that she was in bed with him as she fell into his arms.

" _Oh, Alex_." She sobbed, hoping that maybe if she burrowed hard enough into him she wouldn't have to face him looking the way she did.

" _Penny?_ " Alex sounded shocked, but kept his voice below a whisper. His arms were around her in an instant, and Penny was immediately convinced that any embarrassment she'd suffer after this would be so worth the comfort she felt in that moment. She couldn't stop herself from sobbing into his shoulder.

Alex had no idea what had happened this time, but held her as tight as he could without hurting her. He adjusted them so he was sitting up more, and tried to cradle her closer.

"Penny— _Penny!_ What's the matter? What happened?" He whispered to her, but she only shook her head. After a while she sniffed in an attempt to clear her nose and tried to regain some composure.

"She's just so awful…" Her voice was choked, and she had to grip onto him tightly to get the words out. Alex frowned at having his suspicions confirmed and hugged her closer, nuzzling the side of her head with his chin.

"Hey, hey… you're alright. Tell me what's going on." He tried to make his voice as kind as he could, despite venomous rage bubbling in his belly. Alex had never had anyone cry on him like this before, and definitely never about something so serious. The last time he had seen a girl cry was Haley because she accidentally dropped some ice cream on her camisole. But he _did_ have plenty of experience holding girls, so he was going to put his best effort into that part of the comforting process. Penny sniveled and pulled away enough to rub her face, letting Alex finally get a look at her. In the dim light the moon offered, he could tell she was in a long pajama shirt and capri length bottoms, both of which had a worn and faint pattern of flowers on them. He thought it was cute, even when she looked up at him with sad, puffy eyes.

"I-I'm sorry… coming over like this…" Her voice cracked again and Alex leaned in to hold her again.

"Penny I told you that—" He started, but Penny's hiccuping interrupted him.

"I know, but I just…" She wiped her eyes with the bottom of her palm. "I don't want to bother you, Alex. I'm sorry…"

Alex frowned at her with genuine pity. He leaned in to hug her properly, resting his chin over her shoulder.

"Penny, you don't have to apologize for needing some help." He spoke into her hair and rubbed her back gently. Penny's eyes welled up with fresh tears and she hugged him back as tight as she could. Alex sighed through his nose, rocking her a little while he tried to think. Years of showboating and succeeding athletically hadn't prepared him for this at all. After another minute he gave up trying to find words and laid on his side instead, dragging Penny down with him

"Alex!" Penny whispered in surprise, still tightly pressed against him. Alex only hummed and adjusted his right arm so her head could lay on it. Penny felt skin brush her ear while he got settled, and felt renewed embarrassment. She was really lying in bed with a man, just like that! Before she could process her situation any further Alex spoke again.

"You don't deserve to put up with this shit, Penny." Those were the best words he could find. Penny bristled from the curse word, but didn't move from her spot against him. She could feel his heart thudding inside his chest, and his breath sounded so gruff. She never thought being in the arms of a _very_ aggravated man would be so comforting.

"…please don't swear." She mumbled finally, scratching at the front of his shirt sadly. Alex frowned at her avoiding the topic, but sighed and tried to relax more.

"You don't though, Penny. You know that right?" He stared out at the darkness of his room before pulling away enough to peek down at her. Penny was preoccupied with picking at his shirt and avoiding the question. He pouted out his lip, unimpressed, and rattled her shoulder around a little. Penny turned her face further into his arm and whined.

"…she's my _mother_ , Alex." She felt breathless. Alex sneered.

" _So?_ So _what?_ That's no excuse!" He raised his voice to a loud whisper. "You think that's okay? That that's how you should be treated? You think that my _dad_ —"

He stopped short, watching her wince and curl into herself more. He hesitated a minute before groaning and enveloping her with a full body hug. Penny squeaked beneath him, but he just squeezed her with a frustrated grunt before falling back onto his side.

"You're killing me, Penny." He looked down to her, and thought for a second by her expression that she might have taken him literally. She stared up at him a while longer before resting on his bicep again.

"…I know, Alex." She whispered. "I know I deserve better, but there's no point in thinking about that when I have nowhere else to go…"

Alex paused a moment before nuzzling down closer to her.

"But you came _here_." His voice was suddenly huskier. Penny stared into his eyes, almost nose to nose with him, before hurriedly trying to roll over. Alex laughed and hugged her back to his chest. Penny squirmed a little, but was suddenly aware of every muscle she was previously snuggled up against now pressing firmly into her back, and didn't want to move too much. Alex snickered and tried to push his face into her neck, but felt fabric against his cheek instead. He lifted his head to look at the handkerchief tied around her head. He bumped it with his knuckle curiously.

"What's this?" He questioned. Penny was taken off guard by his sudden change in demeanor.

"My… curlers?" Penny asked, trying to turn enough to see him. Alex laughed at the answer.

"You wear _curlers_ to bed?" He snickered again, prodding at the back of her head more. Penny felt her cheeks flush again.

"W-well, yes! How did you think I did my hair?" Her voice was defensive out of embarrassment, thinking he was implying she was akin to an old woman or something. Alex laughed again and squeezed the bundle between his thumb and index knuckle. He was surprised to feel it squish.

"Hey, these aren't hard. They're really soft." He commented, squeezing the same spot repeatedly. Penny stared off at nothing and questioned how she got here. After a moment she tried to pat his hand away, but he was too preoccupied with squishing her curlers to be deterred.

"They're _sponge_ curlers." Penny huffed. Alex peeked over her shoulder more, and she was surprised to see such an innocent smile on his face.

"That's so cute." He grinned more. "I've never heard of that."

Penny stared at him while her blush spread over her face more, then brought up a hand to hold her face in, shaking her head in disbelief. Now that she was less distraught, she could think about the situation she was in, and couldn't help but ask herself 'what am I even doing here'. She was in bed with a huge, muscular man, letting him make fun of her curlers after she had just poured her soul out to him, _that's_ what she was doing. Before she could think about it further, she felt Alex's nose bump up against her temple. She peeked an eye out from under her fingers, and saw that his playful smile had been replaced with a much kinder one.

"Why do you always try to run and hide from me?" His expression got flirty and Penny did her best to roll over again. Alex only laughed and rolled her back so she was facing him.

"Alex, this is _so_ inappropriate—" Her voice cut off when he pulled her closer.

" _Nah_ …" Alex drug out the word with a smile and stretched out before relaxing comfortably again. He watched Penny looking up at him like a nervous little rabbit and felt proud for turning the mood around once more—he was getting good at it! He brought a hand up and messed with her bandana again.

"I like you better being cute and shy like this." Alex smiled confidently. "Do you feel better? Want something to eat? Food always makes me feel better."

Penny looked up at him. It was hard to hear his questions with her heart beating in her ears, but she did her best to process them. After a moment she smiled and relaxed against him.

"No, I'm alright now." She sighed, letting herself finally take in her surroundings. Penny wasn't sure if it was his cologne or body wash she was smelling, but it smelled wonderful. She had never in her adult life laid in anyone's arms like this, and definitely not the arms of a strapping young man. She chuckled a little to herself, reminded of too many scenes from books she had read. Alex smiled more excitedly at her giggling, and started thumbing at her shoulder.

"What's so funny, huh?" He tried to rub foreheads with her, but Penny only laughed more and tried to wriggle away from his nuzzling.

"This… situation." She answered finally, smiling up at him. "It doesn't seem real."

Alex quirked an eyebrow and tried to smirk seductively.

"Oh, I'm 100% real." He cooed, but only ended up making Penny laugh again. His face fell until Penny looked up at him with a shine in her eyes.

"You _are_ , and that just makes this all more _unreal_." Penny chuckled into her hand.

"…how's that make any sense?" Alex asked after a moment, obviously confused.

"It's like an oxymoron." Penny tilted her head up to peek at him again. His bewildered expression made it clear he had no idea what she was talking about.

"An… oxen moron?" His face wrinkled trying to imagine it. Penny laughed softly against his collar.

"No, no, an _oxymoron_." Penny tried to speak clearly, but that was obviously not the issue. She decided to explain instead. "It's a word or phrase that contradicts itself by definition. Like 'jumbo shrimp'."

"Jumbo…" Alex thought a moment, trying to figure out what she meant. "… _Oh_ , 'cause shrimp are _small_ , not big!"

"Yes." She smiled her proud teacher's smile at him. "Yes, exactly."

Alex snickered at the idea of an 'oxen moron', then settled back against his pillow. Penny hummed contently beside him and busied herself with his shirt again. After a few minutes of very soft, idle whispering between them, Penny looked back up at him. She admired him with a kind smile, and with a rush of bravery, set a hand on his cheek.

"…thank you, Alex." She brushed her thumb against his skin while she spoke. "Thank you for… for listening and comforting me. It's very nice to have you as a… confidant."

Alex had been smiling happily until her final word. He used to feel stupid when he didn't know a word, but he had grown accustomed to asking Penny about definitions.

"Confidant? Is that 'confident' said with a weird accent or…?" He asked and fluted his fingers on her sides. Penny laughed softly and shook her head.

"No, a _confidant_ is someone you… _confide_ in. A person you share your most personal emotions and secrets with." Penny spoke with shy affection in her voice, unable to look at him again. She pressed the bridge of her nose to his neck and burrowed her face against him. "You make me feel… safe."

Alex's heart fluttered at that. He had felt his heartrate quicken with a girl in his arms before, of course, but this felt different. It wasn't like the excitement he got from kissing and flirting, it was something warmer and lighter. After the initial airy, swelling feeling in his chest passed, a satisfying warmth spread over him, and he smiled a lopsided smile at the top of Penny's head.

"…oh yeah?" He spoke softly again. Penny could hear the affection in his voice too, and even with herself in a loving mood she couldn't bear to look at him. It was always easier for her to hide away instead of confronting whatever might cause a hiccup in her normal routine.

"…yeah." She smiled and scratched her finger at his shirt. Alex felt his heart swell again, and redoubled his arms around her. Penny exhaled happily and snuggled closer to him. She knew she needed to get home, but couldn't help herself from indulging in this fantasy just a little longer. Eventually, she managed to pull herself away. She sat up, still resting on her hip, and felt Alex's hand slide from her arm down her side. Coupled with the loving look in his eyes, the sensation made Penny giggle, reminded once again of a scene in a romance novel.

"I should go…" Penny sighed and thumbed at his cheek again. Alex grinned up at her.

"You don't have to…" He purred up at her, but Penny only laughed again.

"Yes I do." She replied, watching him pout beneath her hand. She hesitated a moment, then leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Alex."

Penny sat up again and tried her best to not be embarrassed by her own bold behavior. Alex stared back up at her in surprise, before pressing his hand to his cheek and rubbing it gingerly with a dopey smile on his face.

"You're welcome…" He sounded lost in thought. A little kiss on the cheek hadn't excited him so much since he was in grade school.

Penny laughed almost breathlessly, still hoping to seem more confident than usual. She got up from the bed, and Alex offered to walk her to the front door, but she declined. Instead she bid him goodnight, and made her way through her yard and back into her bedroom, thankfully unnoticed by her mother. She crawled into bed and curled up with her pillow, happily pretending it was Alex's big warm chest until she fell asleep.

* * *

 **AN:** Boy this chapter took a LONG while to complete. Mostly because it was going to be part of the last chapter, but it just kept going on, and on… I couldn't help but want to pull every bit of cutesy-wootsy dialogue out of these two this chapter. ;)

 _Aaaa_ , (love the name) Dang you're a fast reviewer! :3c Thank you! Writing this story has made me adore them both more than I ever thought I would.


	8. The Flower Dance

Alex slid the book he had just finished back into its spot on his bookcase, then slipped a piece of red construction paper behind it. He was using the paper as a marker to show his progress, and stepped back to look at his hard work with pride. The marker was already eight books in—he'd never finish that many books in his life! While he was admiring his progress he heard his door open, and turned excitedly in hopes that it was Penny. To his delight, Penny stood in the doorway smiling at him. She wasn't sure if he was going to tease her about the previous night, but she still had butterflies herself and was excited to see him too. Instead of teasing her, Alex gestured to his bookcase.

"Look at that!" He pointed to the first book on the shelf and motioned his hand from there to the red paper. "I've never read that much _ever!_ "

He smiled proudly, and Penny beamed back at him.

"You've done so well, Alex." She stepped forward to stand beside him and scanned the bookshelf too. He gave a satisfied sigh through his nose and nodded a little.

"I told you, I wanna read every book in it!" Alex spoke with more confidence about it now. Penny smiled up at him proudly.

"Well, I think you've got a good start here. And all of those sports magazines there are well-read, I assume." She pointed to one of the bottom shelves that was full of body building magazines and chuckled. Alex laughed and turned to her. Her eyelids still looked a little puffy from the previous night, but her eyes shone brightly without even a hint of sadness. He smiled wider and leaned down to give her a hug. Penny was unaccustomed to being hugged so casually, but quickly returned it with a content sigh. She had been thinking about his arms all day.

"I owe it all to you, you know." Alex said when he pulled away. Penny shook her head.

"No Alex, this is all of your own hard work." Penny tried to assure him, but he shook his head right back.

"Penny I've been starin' at this bookcase for years thinking I'm a total idiot. It's because of you that I've gotten this far so fast." He gave her a warm smile. "I know what I'm good at, and it's _not_ this. So thank you."

Penny smiled more and swayed a little, trying to think of a response. She couldn't think of anything besides how wonderful he was.

"…You're welcome, Alex." She looked up at him again. "I guess it's good to be confident about your strengths _and_ weaknesses."

Alex nodded in agreement, then looked off towards his corkboard board and weights. His expression faltered and he sighed again, this time with some remorse. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck before turning to her again. Penny was confused about his sudden change in demeanor.

"Hey, uh…" He continued rubbing his neck awkwardly, then let his hand fall and pap against his jeans. "I know that I was… pretty arrogant when we started hanging out."

Penny blinked in surprise, confused about where this confession was coming from.

"I just… well, you probably thought I was really obnoxious. Y'know, always talking about how I'm gunna go pro, and teasing you and stuff." Alex cleared his throat again and looked at her. Penny looked up at him, unsure of what to say.

"Alex…" She smiled again, feeling even more admiration for him than before. He smiled back, still nervous but more confident that she wasn't holding it against him.

"I just don't want you to think I'm some jerk, I guess." He laughed a little, and Penny giggled in reply. She brought a hand up to twist a strand of hair around her finger.

"No, not at all…" She sighed with a smile. Alex grinned and nodded, both unable to say anything more. Penny waited another beat before laughing into her hand at the situation and retreating to his desk, with Alex close behind.

* * *

The Flower Dance arrived soon after, and Evelyn had just finished altering Alex's tuxedo for the event.

"Alex, I _swear_." She huffed, testing the seam with a sharp tug. "You need to stop all this working out business, I have to tailor your suit wider every year!"

Alex laughed proudly, earning a pouty scowl from his grandmother. He snickered into his hand and took the jacket from her.

"Sorry, Granny." He smirked and fit the jacket onto the hanger with the rest of his ensemble. " _No can do_. All that protein has to go somewhere, and these muscles are gunna get me into the big leagues!"

Evelyn huffed again and watched Alex fit the plastic protector over the outfit and hang it from his arm. She smiled at that, unable to stay cross with him for long.

"Well, come on then. We don't want to be late." Evelyn smiled and patted his arm before heading for the door. Alex took the handles of his grandpa's wheelchair and rolled him out after her.

Once they arrived, Evelyn couldn't stop cooing about the flower arrangements and the petals seemingly falling from the sky itself. Alex could see Haley practicing her dance moves in an open area of the field like usual, but instead of watching her like her normally would, he was scanning the crowd for a certain redhead. He saw her chatting with Harvey and Maru, and quickly made his way over.

"Hey Penny." He smirked and leaned into the conversation, making Harvey inch away uneasily. Maru looked to Alex, then smiled at Penny with a knowing grin. Penny tried to ignore it and smiled up at Alex instead.

"Hello, Alex." She replied gently. They started chatting casually, and Maru stepped Harvey a few feet away, trying to give them some space.

"So…" Alex grinned. "Who do you dance with usually? Sam?"

Penny nodded, picking at the plastic covering the dress that hung over her forearm. She wasn't even sure why she brought it.

"Yes, but probably not this year." She seemed a little disappointed. Alex was confused until she continued. "Since he and Josée are getting married soon, after all…"

"Oh." Alex half nodded in realization. Sam would dance with his fiancée if he was going to dance with anyone, obviously.

"You're dancing with Haley, I'd assume?" Penny smiled, trying to stay pleasant and ignore any jealousy she felt. Alex might be kind to her, but Haley was still the most beautiful girl in town, and they had danced together every year for as long as she could remember. Alex looked at her and felt almost guilty when he nodded.

"Yeah, probably." He looked off again, and Penny let her smile fall a little. As unlikely as it was, it would have been so wonderful to be asked to dance by him. The mayor called out to say the dance was starting soon, and Alex nodded to her with a smile before heading over towards Haley. Penny tried to not seem too crestfallen watching him walk away. Haley bounded up to Alex as he approached, and he did his best to smile his normal confident smile to her.

"Ready?" Haley giggled and spun around. She didn't even need him to ask her to dance, she already assumed she was his choice, as usual. Alex watched her figure while she twirled and felt torn. She certainly was the hottest girl here, from her bouncy blonde hair to her hourglass waist, but part of him felt wrong dancing with her after everything that had happened between himself and Penny. Haley giggled again, and his smile returned. "I'm going to go get changed, you go too!"

"Okay." He nodded and walked to the other side of the field where the guys were in line to get changed behind a screen. Once he was changed, he walked out into the field and Haley twirled in her dress to show it off to him.

"Don't I look super cute?" She beamed with one final twirl. Alex smirked and tried to enjoy the view, but couldn't stop himself from looking around while Haley got her flower crown situated just right.

He craned his neck to see through the crowd, and saw Sam praising and giggling over his fiancée in her new dress. It made his heart drop a little, and he tried to look around for Penny again. Maru and Harvey were dancing together, so she wasn't standing with them. He finally caught sight of her once the music started. As he stepped forward, like he had for years, he tried to keep his eyes on Haley, but continued to look off to his left at Penny, who was standing meekly next to the blacksmith, Clint. She seemed so small, hiding off in the corner like that. Alex tried his best to not let it bother him and focus instead on the dance.

* * *

Everyone clapped when the dance ended, and Haley seemed ecstatic to be the Flower Queen again. She was giddy asking Alex to come back to her house while all the 'old people' cleaned up the festival, but Alex told her he had to work out, which was a lie. Haley didn't seem deterred by him not joining her in celebration, and skipped off for home. Alex watched her go and scratched at his sideburn awkwardly. He'd never lied to get out of a possible hookup before, but he felt like it would eat him alive if he didn't talk to Penny. He started looking around, hoping she hadn't left yet, and was pleased to see her helping Marnie pack up flowers arrangements into a big crate. He hurried over to them eagerly.

"Hey!" He smiled and touched her shoulder. Penny turned around in surprise but smiled once she saw it was him. All of the guys complained about how dorky those baby blue suits were, but Penny thought Alex looked rather dashing in his, especially this close up.

"Hey." She set down the basket of flowers she was holding into the crate and turned to greet him properly. "You did great out there."

Alex snorted a laugh and shook his head.

"Oh yeah, the no-touching-each-other part is the tricky move." He rolled his eyes with a smile, making Penny giggle into her hand. Marnie looked on before smiling fondly and shaking her head. Neither noticed her lugging the crate away.

"Sorry, uh, that you didn't get to dance this year." Alex frowned, noticing her dress set neatly on top of a bush. Penny hummed sadly and shrugged.

"It's alright." She sighed. "I'm happy for Sam. And I suppose dancing in front of everyone like that is… kind of embarrassing."

Alex frowned while he watched her. She looked so disappointed despite her excuses. He picked at the collar of his shirt a moment, trying to think of something that might cheer her up. His fidgeting halted abruptly when an idea crossed his mind. Alex stepped closer and bumped her shoulder with his gently, leaning in so they were closed off from whoever might be watching.

"Hey…" He whispered. "Why don't you uh, slip that dress on and… dance with me awhile?"

Penny looked up in shock and her eyes darted around in a mild panic.

"W-what? But the festival's over—"Penny stuttered.

" _Eh?_ We're here, I'm in my suit, you've got your dress… there's flowers…" Alex spoke nonchalantly and gestured around to the remaining decorations. Penny watched his expression to see if he was teasing her, and laughed awkwardly when she realized he was serious.

"Um… okay…" Her bashful laughing continued in an attempt to hide her nervousness, and she gently took her dress from its resting spot. She shuffled behind the screen that was left standing and changed into her dress. Alex smiled when she stepped out and quickly took her hands, making her drop her now neatly folded blouse and skirt onto the grass. Penny tried to pick them up, but Alex refused to let her hands go and started swaying her away from the mess.

"Alex!" Penny laughed and refused to look at him, but let him guide her around in a circle.

" _Ye~es_ , Miss Penny?" Alex gave her a cheeky smile and slipped a hand down to the dip of her back. Penny giggled and tried to wriggle away, but Alex locked his fingers between hers and drug her closer. Her dress was the same as all the of other girls', but she did look adorable in it. Her figure was petite and thin, but the top of the dress was tighter than her regular blouse, and Alex was enjoying looking at what curves she had.

"You're so _ridiculous_." Penny finally looked at him and Alex was grinning wide down at her. He started to rock them side to side, stepping around in a small circle, and Penny returned to her giggling. Alex teased her for stumbling a few times, but helped her follow his jaunty rhythm with some gentle encouragement.

The two caught the attention of several citizens that were helping clean up, most of them older folks, and they hummed happily to see what they thought was a blossoming young couple. Marnie sighed, half romantically and half dejectedly at her own sore luck with love, while Evelyn patted George's shoulder excitedly.

"Oh _George_." She sighed with delight. " _Look_."

George only grumbled about the flower petals that kept landing on him.

* * *

 **AN** : Can you say "quick update"? I just couldn't wait to finish this one… they're so cute ;3;

Dancin' around like goobers…

 _Aaaa_ , I feel you, and I promise there _will_ be smut ;3c

 _ApertureGaming011_ , THANK YOU I'm glad you're enjoying the fluff! I'm flattered

**Forgot to mention, the first scene of this chapter is (an alternated version of) Alex's 5 and 6 Heart Events :) I forget not everyone knows these things off hand! (some people have lives and don't scour the wiki or play until everyone's at 8+ hearts like I do huhuhu sobs)


	9. Culture Clash

The day after the Flower Dance, Sam and Josée were married. There hadn't been a wedding in Pelican Town in over a decade, and everyone came to witness it. Penny had stood near the front of the attendees, enamored with the crisp white décor and pastel flower arrangements. Ever since she was a little girl she had been dreaming of her own wedding day, but the idea of marriage had been on her mind more often than usual the past few weeks anyway. During the ceremony, she managed to peek behind her at Alex, who was in the back of the crowd watching with Haley, and she couldn't help but think that he would look so handsome in a black tuxedo. Growing up, her fantasies always had a faceless, but assumingly kind and attractive, man at the altar with her—it was exciting to have someone she would actually _want_ to see under that pretty flower arch with her.

It was now the final day of tutoring for the spring, and Penny still couldn't get her mind off of marriage. Vincent and Jas were being a bit rowdy today, seeing as summer vacation was only a few hours away, and she couldn't even bring herself to scold them. Instead, she half-listened to Jas read the chapter aloud while she fantasized about what being Alex's wife would be like. He had a big appetite, so she would probably cook all the time, and he'd eat it all appreciatively like he did with the breakfast she made him once. She wouldn't care about the size of the house they would share, she only knew she would love it. Maybe he would want a really large home if he really _did_ end up playing professional gridball. She couldn't help but wonder if he wanted to have children—she had always wanted a big family, herself.

"—Miss Penny!" Vincent piped up excitedly. Penny jolted slightly and shook her head to clear the daydreams out of her mind.

"Yes, Vincent?" She smiled sweetly, if not a little flustered.

"What do you think, Miss Penny? Can we, _can we?_ " Jas bounced at her other side. Penny looked to her in confusion.

"Can you… what?" She asked.

"Can we end lessons early? Because we finished the last chapter?" Jas beamed up at her. Penny blinked, a little taken aback, and then looked to her own book. She hadn't turned a page in at least fifteen minutes, and instead had been picking at the weathered corner of her book while she was lost in thought. She blushed in embarrassment and laughed to try and cover herself while she considered. Normally, she would never agree to end class early, but she was hardly paying attention, and she _did_ have someone she wanted to see.

"Well…" Penny looked off, already excited to see Alex again. "…I suppose, since summer break starts tomorrow…"

"Yay!" Both the children cheered happily and hopped around, chattering about class being over and what they would do all summer long. Penny tried to hush them—it was still a _library_ , after all—before helping them pack up and corralling them out of the building.

They ran ahead of her a ways before doubling back over and over, never straying too far even though they were wound up beyond belief. Penny didn't mind, and contently walked along their normal route, thinking about what summer would hold for her this year. Usually she would just enjoy the free time to walk around town in the warm weather, but now she was expecting a lot more time to devote to Alex's lessons, which would mean more time with him in general. She felt silly, like a schoolgirl, but he was all she could think about. She was probably rushing things in her fantasies, but there was no harm in pretending, she thought. Imagining if a relationship would lead to marriage was only natural if that was your end goal for _any_ romantic relationship, right?

Penny knew that Alex still visited with Haley once a week, but tried not to think about what they were doing anymore. He would wait for her now, after she was finished walking Jas home, and they would walk together to his house, and she always looked forward to that. Since she was going to be a little early today, she was unsure if he would be there already, or if she was too early and would have to meet him at his house instead.

Jas and Vincent had decided they wanted to continue playing at Marnie's ranch for the rest of the day, and raced around with one another past Vincent's house and into the forest trail. Penny followed after them dutifully, when she heard a door open and the sound of people talking. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but looked over her shoulder to see who it was. She realized it was Haley and Alex talking on her front porch, and before Penny could realize anything else, she watched Haley plant a kiss on Alex's mouth, then hold his neck and giddily drag him back inside. Penny's heart dropped into her stomach.

It all happened so quickly, she couldn't even process that she really saw it. Her eyes darted across the floor, trying to match the speed her mind was going. It had to be a mistake, or something she was misconstruing—but it _couldn't_ be. The way she held him, how easily she had him skipping over his own two feet and back into the house; they were involved, simple as that. And not like a _crush_ or _flirting_ kind of involved, either. They were obviously very serious, and here _she_ was pretending she might have a relationship with him someday.

Penny's throat tightened and she swallowed hard. Just as the gravity of it all finally started to hit her, Jas and Vincent called for her impatiently a ways down the tree covered path. She looked over to them in surprise, having forgotten her surroundings for a moment. Almost in anguish, she realized, she couldn't just have a self-pitying breakdown in front of the children. Even though her breathing was already labored, and she could feel panic and regret pooling deep in her belly, she had to get them home safe and sound. So she forced a smile and trudged on, trying to distract herself from her heartbreak just a little longer.

The moment the children said goodbye and ran inside, however, Penny let her demeanor falter. Tears started to burn her eyes, and as the ranch's heavy wood door shut forcefully, she squeezed her eyes tight and let them fall. She sniffled a few times, took a ragged breath in, and then hurried back into the cover of the forest, praying no one else was taking that path so early in the afternoon. Her legs could only carry her halfway before they buckled, and her knees dropped into the soft dirt. Before she could collapse any further, she managed to scramble back and wedge herself between two trees that lined the road. Penny felt more safely hidden in the tight space, and finally allowed herself to let out a sob. She tried to quiet herself, just in case anyone might be near, and pulled her legs up to her chest, crossing her arms over her knees and burying her face in her forearms.

She started to cry, unable to hold it in any longer. She felt so stupid! How could she have believed any of that flirting would be serious on his end? Why would Alex want to 'settle down' when he was handsome and charismatic and on the verge of professional success? He would probably end up being some jetsetter in a city far away from here, and would travel all over the world with Haley or any other number of beautiful women. Penny felt her heart ache again at the idea. It wasn't even his fault—it was hers. She looked too much into it, and she got her feelings hurt. But how could she face him now? She could barely breathe, let alone get up and tutor him and pretend nothing was different between them.

The kiss replayed in her head over and over, and each time it made all of her insides lurch and churn. It was so casual, like Haley had kissed him a hundred times. She felt so guilty, now convinced that Alex had extended a caring hand, and she had mistakenly believed that he was trying to romance her. But mostly, she felt horrible about herself. She was so boring and plain compared to girls like Haley, how could she have ever thought he would choose her when he had women like that to choose from?

After what seemed like forever, she managed to talk herself down enough to get up. She wanted to just lay down and sob her lungs out from the humiliation, but she had to get home first, and to get home she needed to calm down and make the walk through town. Penny wiped her face and hurried down the path, knowing her eyes were probably bloodshot from crying, and hoping that if she was quick enough no one would notice. She tried to not sob again when she passed Haley's house, knowing he was inside, and sped the rest of the way to her trailer.

* * *

Alex couldn't seem to keep still. He had tried everything from reading to lifting weights, but all he seemed to be able to do was pace around the house impatiently, waiting for Penny to arrive for that day's lesson. He was so excited to see her anymore that he would argue to say that it was the highlight of his day.

He had gone to see Haley earlier that afternoon, but didn't end up staying long. He couldn't seem to concentrate on much of what she was saying, and even when she wanted to kiss awhile, he still couldn't stop thinking of getting home. He and Haley had been hooking up casually since high school, but he felt like maybe he was finally losing interest. Alex couldn't understand why, since she was very, very beautiful, but he just didn't feel the need to see her that often anymore—at least not for _that_. But when he had tried to leave the first time, Haley thought he was being funny and pulled him back inside. He wasn't _complaining_ , of course, but now he was looking forward to spending time with Penny.

His stomach felt a little weird, kissing Haley like that knowing he would see Penny a few hours later, so he had taken a shower and brushed his teeth thoroughly, thinking that would make him something like a fresh slate. Now he couldn't stop walking around the house, popping back into his bathroom to fuss over his face and hair every now and then, and sometimes flopping around on his bed. He wished the lessons she did with the kids didn't run until right before the lessons with himself started, or else they could hang out beforehand. She did tell him at the beginning of the week that today would be the last day for the children's lessons before summer break though, which might be why he was so excited; a whole summer with Penny's undivided attention.

Eventually he managed to relax in bed and daydream awhile. The prospect of summer just around the corner was inspiring him with all sorts of fun ideas—like what Penny might look like in a bathing suit. She would probably be so cute and shy about showing that much skin, which only made him want to see it even more. After some lovely afternoon fantasies, he checked the clock and confirmed it was nearing 3PM. His heart bounced a little in his chest, but he tried to stay relaxed—girls didn't like an overeager guy, after all. Alex continued to check the clock, and by 3:10PM he was growing increasing impatient. She was probably just running a little late, but he couldn't help feeling cheated; what was taking so long? Another half hour passed and he was completely unable to hold still. He had gotten up to pace around the kitchen and very obviously look out the window to see if she was coming.

"Alex dear, what's outside?" Evelyn asked curiously while she dried a glass. Alex huffed an agitated sigh and let the curtain fall again.

"Nothing, grandma." He looked up to the clock again, and it read 3:45PM. "Hey, Granny, did you see Penny in town today?"

"Hm? Oh…" Evelyn thought a moment. "I think so dear, just this morning. Why?"

"She's late…" Alex checked out the window again, eyeing the trailer across the large expanse of yard. Evelyn hummed in reply.

"I'm sure she just lost track of time, honey." She nodded and placed the cup onto a low shelf of the cupboard. Alex frowned, unsatisfied with that. Penny wouldn't 'lose track' of time for this long, she was very responsible.

"…I'm going to go check on her." He got up, and was out of the door before Evelyn could reply.

* * *

Penny had bound herself up in her blanket and cried into her pillow for at least an hour, and now she was kicking herself for it. She had spent the better half of another hour trying to calm down, but only broke into gasping sobs again with each attempt. Her heart kept screaming 'how could he, how could he?' but her brain was convinced it was her own fault, which only made her feel worse. The anxiety she felt from the impending hour of her and Alex's tutoring session was doing nothing to help her either, as she desperately tried to calm down before 3PM. When that hour came and went, she became determined to pull herself together. Even if she was going to be late, she couldn't miss that appointment; it was just unprofessional!

With a sniffling, pink nose, she managed to drag herself to the bathroom, only to be greeted by her horrific appearance. Her eyelids were swollen, and her eyes were an angry red. There was absolutely no way she could see Alex looking like this—if he asked her what was wrong, she would surely burst into tears again. So instead she made a cool compress with a plastic baggie of ice and a wet washcloth, and rested in bed with it on her eyes, praying the swelling would go down. Twenty minutes passed with little improvement, when there was a knock on the door.

Her heart jumped into her throat, and then came crashing down into her stomach when she heard Alex's voice.

"Penny?" He paused to rap on the door again. "Penny, are you in there?"

She sat up quickly, dropping the compress into her lap. His voice sounded so concerned, and Penny felt her eyes start to water again. She rubbed them with her forearm as fast as she could and stammered a reply.

"Y-yes! Yes, I'm here." She called out, thankful her voice didn't crack. Alex was relieved for a moment, but this only raised more questions. He decided to let himself in.

"Penny, it's almost 4 o'clock!" He called into the trailer, making Penny jump in her bed. She scrambled to her bedroom door and slammed it shut. Alex's head whipped around from looking at the living room to down the hall that led to her bedroom. "Penny?"

She was in a panic now. Her eyes were a dead giveaway that she had had been crying, and _hard_ at that.

"S-sorry, _sorry!_ I… I feel… sick." Penny's voice waned. At least she wasn't lying. "I didn't want to come over until I felt better, but I'm not really improving… maybe we should cancel lessons today."

Alex's brows furrowed in concern, and he started to walk down the hall. Penny's anxiety rose hearing his footsteps, and she braced the door to make sure he couldn't just barge in.

"Sick? What's the matter?" Alex grabbed the door handle and tried to turn it. "Are you okay? Do you want anyth—"

"—No!" Penny interrupted quickly. "N-no, no don't come in. I don't want you to get sick too."

Alex blinked in surprise, then smiled at her selfless nature.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm as healthy as a race horse. Come on, let me—"

"— _No!_ " Penny's voice betrayed her this time, and cracked miserably. She couldn't stop herself and her voice from shaking. "Please, _please_ go away, Alex…"

Her voice diminished into nothing, and Alex was immediately alarmed. He started to try and rattle the door open, but Penny pushed herself against it in a hopeless heap.

"Penny!" Alex tried to reason with her. "Penny, let me in. What's happening? What's wrong?"

She could hear the urgency in his voice, and felt her resolve dwindling. Even if it meant nothing to him, her whole being seemed to ache to be in his arms right now. Penny moved away from the door and shuffled over to her bed before collapsing on it, bundling up into a fetal position as a final attempt to keep him seeing her so devastated. Alex tried the door again cautiously, and managed to open it this time.

"Penny…?" He checked behind the door, and seeing she wasn't there, pushed the door open fully and entered the room. He scanned the room as quickly as he could, and as he looked over the headboard of her bed, her curled up shape caught his eye. He hastily stepped to the bedside and sat down, trying to look her over. "Penny! What's wrong—"

His touch alone immediately made her sob. Alex pulled back, worried he might have pinched her, but leaned over again to continue checking her. Once he managed to roll her over, he could see how badly she had been crying. He was alarmed all over again, and dipped his hand down to cradle her cheek carefully.

" _Geez_ , Penny…" His voice was almost mournful. "What happened?"

Penny's response was completely incoherent, and he tried to scoop her up and cradle her to try and calm her. He was surprised when she fought him on it, and after struggling to keep her close, ended up in a resting position against her headboard, with her face and fists pushed roughly into his chest. Her legs laid along the length of the bed instead of being balled up, and were limp, unlike her arms and shoulders, which were tensed harshly while she cried. Alex tried to convince her to talk to him, but with her responses remaining incoherent, decided that holding her until she could regain some composure was the best thing he could do for her at the moment. He kept quiet, unsure if speaking would upset her or comfort her, and instead tried to brush her hair back calmly. After a while, Penny's breathing had slowed, and Alex felt brave enough to speak.

"Penny… talk to me." He tried to not seem demanding. Penny sniffed a little, rubbing her face into the now very wet fabric of his shirt.

"…can I make some tea, please?" Her throat tightened when she tried to speak, and she had to swallow hard in an attempt to wet it. Alex wasn't sure what tea had to do with anything, but carefully slid off the side of the bed, helping her sit up as he stood.

"Sure." He smiled at her gently and pulled her to her feet too. "C'mon."

He walked her to the kitchen, trying to check her over as much as he could without being too invasive. She didn't seem to be hurt anywhere, and he couldn't even imagine what her mother could have done to make her cry this hard. He watched cautiously while Penny took out an old metal kettle and filled it with water. She placed it on the stove and searched in a cupboard while the water heated up. Alex tried to think of a plan of action while Penny did her very best to keep her back to him. She didn't even let the kettle sit long enough to whistle before she picked it up and tried to pour hot water into a mug. Alex watched her hand trembling with the pot, and quickly stepped forward and placed his hand over hers on the handle, steadying it to make sure she didn't burn herself. Penny looked up to him in surprise, then turned her attention back to the cup while Alex carefully poured the water for her.

"…thank you." Penny mumbled and shuffled away with the mug. Alex pouted, knowing very well she was trying to avoid him, and watched her stir honey into her tea. She turned back to him and could only look at him a moment before staring sadly into her drink again.

"Here." She spoke quietly, and walked past him and to the breakfast nook in the living room. Alex followed her and then slid into the bench. Penny followed after him slowly, and sat as far away as she could. Alex felt deep concern from her closed off posture, but he tried to wait patiently for her to speak. After he couldn't take the silence anymore, he spoke instead.

" _Penny_." He urged her. "Please, _tell_ me what's going on."

She winced a little, then shut her eyes to try and build up the courage to explain herself. Her fingers gripped the mug and she tried to take some comfort in the warm ceramic.

"…I'm just feeling sorry for myself, I guess." She mumbled. Penny could feel Alex staring, and sucked in a breath to try and continue, but all she could think about was how badly she wanted answers. She had been asking herself the whole afternoon if she had been projecting or if he really had been flirting with her, and if he _had_ been flirting with her, then why? If Haley was his main focus, then why was he flirting with her at all? It was wrong.

Alex watched her brows furrowing in thought, and didn't know what to think. Before he could ask, she turned to him with a look of anguish.

" _Why_ , Alex?" She couldn't stop herself, it was eating her up inside. "Why would you _do_ that?"

He was surprised by her suddenly accusatory tone, and genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.

"Wh—" He couldn't even reply before she asked again, louder than before.

"Why would you flirt with me like that? Why would you have me…" She stared at him with her jaw shaking, then lowered her eyes again.

"Why would you hold me in bed like that, and let me kiss your cheek and make a total fool of myself, when you're pursuing Haley…" Her voice started to shake at the memory of that night, and was barely a whisper at the end of her sentence. Alex was taken aback before scooting closer and leaning into her.

"What— _Haley?_ I'm not _'pursuing'_ Haley—" He slid an arm behind her back to hold her closer, but Penny refused to look at him.

"—don't _lie_." She murmured, trying her best not to whine. She hesitated, saddened by the memory, before speaking again. "…I saw you kissing her today."

Penny's voice was quiet and miserable, but it hit Alex in the gut like a brick. He suddenly felt breathless, but wasn't sure why. It felt like he had gotten caught doing something he shouldn't, even though he couldn't be _cheating_ —Penny wasn't his girlfriend, and neither was Haley. At the same time, he started to feel panicked that Penny didn't want to see him anymore—was this really why she had been crying like this? He felt like it was unreasonable, and at the same time felt like he was the lowest thing on Earth. Alex took her up in his arms and squeezed her tight.

"Penny, I, uh…" He stammered, nervously trying to find the words to explain himself. "Just because I was kissing Haley doesn't mean that… I mean, I'm not… in _love_ with her or something. We're not dating, and I'm not _trying_ to date her…"

Penny pushed away enough so she could look up at him angrily.

" _What?_ How can you even say that! I saw the way she kissed you!" She argued and smacked a fist against his chest. Alex blushed shamefully, but tried to keep eye contact.

"Haley and me have been uh… 'hooking up' for years." He tried to explain. "It's always just been for fun, we're not like… sweethearts or whatever…"

Penny didn't even know how to respond to that. She couldn't believe someone could kiss someone else like that and not have at least _some_ feelings for them.

"Lots of people do it, Penny. I mean, back in high school, that's all you did at parties! Kiss, fool around a little—it's fun!" He smiled nervously, uncertain what Penny was thinking while she stared at him.

She had never been to parties like that, but she had seen them on TV and heard Sam talk about them from time to time. The whole 'hook up' culture completely eluded her—she could never imagine herself finding some boy attractive, and immediately be kissing him behind a bush or something. But she had to admit, she was pretty boring in that regard. Alex was right, a lot of people did sexual things like that for fun. She broke her gaze with him and looked down sadly.

"…I could never do that." She sighed and held her mug again, pushing her thumb against the handle. "I wouldn't kiss someone like that unless I thought… we'd have a future together, maybe."

Alex watched her and frowned with guilt. He still wasn't even sure why he felt so awful, but his main concern was the panicking feeling he felt, thinking that Penny was trying to end any kind of relationship with him. He couldn't handle that thought. Protecting her and giving her a sense of security had become almost addictive for him. Being the person she felt safest with made him feel indescribably good about himself, like he had a purpose, or that he was doing something that actually _mattered_.

"Well, that's 'cause you're not here to waste any time, Penny." He smiled almost admiringly. "You know what you want, and you're not gunna give anything up until you're sure."

Penny looked up at him and felt her cheeks warm again. How could he make her blush just like that, even after he broke her heart into a thousand pieces? It was ridiculous.

"Alex…" She mumbled and looked down again. Alex frowned and cupped her face with his left hand, lifting it back up to look at him. She looked so exhausted and sad, he couldn't take it.

"Penny, I'm so sorry." He looked down, feeling ashamed again. "I never meant to hurt you like this. I didn't think it was a big deal, but…"

He sighed angrily before looking up at her again and rubbing her cheek with his thumb. If it had been _him_ that had seen _her_ kissing someone else, he would have been insanely jealous and hurt and he knew it.

"…I don't want you to think that everything that's happened between us is just… _nothing_ to me. I don't tell people about my parents, Penny, it's something real personal. And I know you don't tell people about what's going on with you and your mom." He scooted a little closer, and adjusted his other arm behind her back to hold her more properly. "I just… I don't want this to stop."

Penny stared up at him in wonder, and felt her blush spreading. It didn't feel embarrassing this time, it felt warm and comforting, like that was the only thing she _should_ be doing in that moment. Alex continued.

"I love being your… _con-fi-dant_ , Penny. I don't want to lose that." Alex could barely look at her, feeling embarrassed himself for a change. "…do you want me to stop seeing Haley? If that's what's upsetting you so bad, I will."

He peeked down at her, and was greeted by her puffy, but sparkling and shining, green eyes. Penny smiled up at him lovingly before looking down shyly.

"You would… stop seeing Haley? Just like that? For…me?" She leaned up against his chest and felt a cautious giddiness while she waited for him to respond. Alex straightened up at her sudden change in tone, before wrapping his arms around her fully again and hugging her closer. He smiled, hoping she was starting to forgive him.

"It's kind of crazy but, I don't think there's anything more important to me right now than… um… _you_ …" He felt like his face was burning. Why was being honest about your feelings so humiliating? It seemed to be exactly what Penny wanted to hear, however, and she quickly snuggled up against him. She pushed her face into his neck with a smile wibbling on her lips.

"Really?" Her voice sounded almost excited. She couldn't believe he was really saying all of this—it was like a romance novel. She pulled back and placed her hands on his chest, looking up at him more adoring than she realized. Alex was surprised to feel his heart flutter. He gave her a lopsided smile and nodded.

"Yeah." He smiled more, and Penny giggled happily. She nuzzled her face back into the crook of his neck, and bumped the bridge of her nose against his jawline. Alex was startled by her affectionate mood, but quickly fell into one himself. He rubbed his jaw down against her forehead and snickered when she giggled in response. He pulled away to look at her again, and she smiled up at him once more. They were almost nose to nose, and with the way she was looking at him, he had never wanted to kiss her more badly than he did right then. Before he could act on the instinct, Penny laid her head down on his chest.

"I'm so sorry for all of this." She murmured, still content, and wiped her eye carefully. "I overreacted so badly…"

"Nah, not at all." Alex tried to assure her, refusing to let her blame herself. She sighed and rubbed her cheek against his chest, enjoying the feeling of his muscles a moment.

"I just feel silly." She mumbled finally. "And my head is killing me."

She laughed softly, and then hummed appreciatively when Alex brought a hand up to massage her temple.

"You're probably dehydrated." He looked her over a little, still pressing circles against her temple with his thumb. "You want me to bring you a Starade? It's got electrolytes and stuff, good for staying hydrated."

"Sure, that sounds nice." She purred against his chest, smiling fondly. Alex smiled wide at her affectionate tone, and noted how tired she sounded.

"I'm sorry about missing tutoring tod— _ah!_ " Penny tried to apologize, but was suddenly hoisted up in his arms in bridal style. She placed her hands on his collar for balance while he stood, then looked up to him in surprise. "A-Alex!"

Alex grinned at her and started walking back to her room.

"Don't worry about it, teach." He chuckled a little and stepped carefully through the threshold of her door, then gently laid her onto the bed. Penny stared up at him, almost in awe, when the cold compress she had made was suddenly placed over her eyes again.

"Maybe I'll go get my book too, and I can read to you while you rest." Alex suggested while he adjusted the compress, then grinned wider when he watched her lips purse into a tiny smile. Penny giggled softly and adjusted more comfortably. She felt totally spoiled.

"Sure, that sounds nice too…" She couldn't see him, but could almost _feel_ him staring down at her. Suddenly, she felt a soft sensation on her forehead. She realized only after she heard the soft _tch_ of his lips that he had kissed her head.

"I'll be right back." His voice was kind, but she could barely hear it. She suddenly felt very lightheaded, and she had to fight to reply.

"O-okay…" She managed through a dizzy smile. Alex snickered a little and rubbed her hand before leaving.

* * *

 **AN:** THIS CHAPTER ENDED UP BEING WAY TOO LONG… But I couldn't bear to split it, and I wasn't about to skimp on all the apology goodies. It's important (to me anyway) to clarify that neither of them are 'wrong' per say, but as the title suggests, it's a horrible culture class. Penny's ideals are really old fashioned, and Alex's are more modern, and neither even considered until that moment what is the other would think is 'okay'… perfect set up for some drama.

I could keep going with this forever, but I broke 5k words and must stop! Geez! And what a chapter to post on Valentines, huh? I guess I'll pretend the extra-long chapter is in the spirit of the season. (And as a side note, 'Starade' made me laugh lol)

Thank you to everyone that's reviewed, you guys are so AWESOME.

 _Tsuskasa Hirokumo_ , thank you! I really want to make their Heart Events seem as natural as possible—but it's actually not too difficult with them! A lot of them happen to mesh very well (like their 4 Heart ones, for example)

 _Nanaba_ , WOW thank you for such a long review! I've totally thought of Penny/Elliot too, but I personally think he's much older than her so I try to not get into that too much haha. It's unfortunate how Pam is; I understand that she probably has trouble explaining her emotions, and instead uses anger to mask all those 'weak' feelings, but Penny's done nothing to deserve it. Thank you again! I'm glad you're enjoying the story :D


	10. Unexpected Talent

The afternoon drug to an end, and Alex packed up the ice cream stand for closing. He had been working there every summer since he was fourteen, and had a decent amount of gold saved up from it. But money wasn't on his mind this summer; it was rather distracted by his redheaded neighbor. Alex sighed contently and gave the last carton of ice cream a smack on the lid to make sure it was on tight, then tucked it away in the freezer.

Penny seemed to have forgiven him about that mess with Haley the other day, but he still felt guilty. He hadn't even considered what she would think if she knew he was 'involved' with Haley, and in all honesty, if it had been some _other_ guy that had been 'running around' on her like that, he would have kicked his ass. Unfortunately, he couldn't kick his own ass, so he decided to go check up on her before he headed home instead. He crossed the river and walked upstream to her trailer, and let himself in with a knock. Penny was right in front of him, busy with a boiling pan, and could only spare a quick peek over her shoulder before she went back to stirring.

"Oh, Alex!" She piped up happily. "You have good timing."

Alex grinned and stepped to her side, trying to peer over her shoulder to see what she was cooking. She swatted him away with a laugh.

"Hold on!" Penny shouldered him off and took the small pan by the handle, then poured the contents into a bowl. Alex noted the mess of spices, vegetables, and a half pack of ground beef left all over the counter. Before he could figure out what she was making, he was then presented with a bowl of bubbling sauce.

"Here, give it a little taste and tell me what you think." She smiled up at him, still offering him the bowl. Alex looked down at the questionable mixture with moderate concern before taking it from her carefully. He could barely differentiate any of the ingredients, but it smelled good enough, so he took the spoon Penny had placed in it and scooped some into his mouth. He was immediately hit by how salty it was, and felt like he might be sick. His attention quickly turned from the flavor to the texture of the beef, which was oddly chewy. He swallowed hard, if just to get it out of his mouth.

"Well?" Penny looked up at him expectantly, and he suddenly felt nervous. She looked so happy, he didn't want to tell her it was awful, but _Yoba_ , it was _bad!_ Alex swallowed again, still tasting salt.

"Uh…" He hesitated. "Really... interesting. How did you get the meat to be… rubbery?"

Penny expression fell, clearly disappointed.

"Oh, um…" She pouted at the floor, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I guess that recipe is a failure—"

"You probably cooked it at too high a temperature." Alex offered and walked past her to the stove. Penny blinked in confusion before turning around and following him. He rinsed off the pan, then set it back on the stove and unpacked the rest of the ground beef.

"Wh—" She couldn't even finish asking what he was doing.

"Here." Alex drug her over so she stood in front of him, and started working with his arms on either side of her. He turned the burner on and let the pan heat up.

"See, you gotta cook meat like this on low. Hot and fast is almost always for grilling only." He spoke confidently, and Penny was surprised he was so knowledgeable about it. He dropped the ground beef into the pan and let it sizzle a second before starting to break it up with the wooden spoon Penny had been working with. "And you can't cook it in a big block, you want it to be even."

Penny watched him chopping and stirring the beef until it was a lovely brown, feeling enamored by his talent in the kitchen.

"Then you can add the water, but not too much to drown it—you listening?" Alex took the pan and filled it with just enough water to cover the meat, grinning at her when he checked to make sure she was paying attention. Penny looked up at him and giggled, unsure what prompted this cooking lesson, but excited to continue watching. Alex smirked and returned to stirring.

"You added a little too much salt. You should always add ingredients little by little, and taste it each time, 'cause a little can change the flavor a lot." He spoke while he shook in some salt. "And if you put too much salt in, you can always add more stuff to mute it."

"Hehe… okay…" Penny hummed, half paying attention. She nuzzled the side of her head into his neck and swayed up against him. Alex chuckled and took her hand, helping her hold the spoon while he stirred.

"Nice _slo~ow_ stirring, right?" He smiled down at her, but Penny could only giggle again.

"Yeah…" She smiled up at him adoringly. Alex instructed her to keep stirring while he chopped up more of the ingredients she picked.

Penny could barely focus on the task, absentmindedly stirring the mix while she watched him. He worked so quickly with the knife, cutting up bok choy, bell pepper, celery, and the rest of an onion into perfect portions, she couldn't help but sigh. His hands were so pretty, she thought, strong and a little vascular, with a small amount of dark hair on the back and knuckles. She realized Alex was looking at her, and felt embarrassed when he laughed.

"Look, you crush the garlic with the side of the knife, like this." He demonstrated, and she could only nod. He could probably see how rosy her cheeks were right now, and hoped she didn't seem like she was lusting over him. Alex slid behind her again, holding the cutting board with all of her chosen ingredients in one hand, and slid them into the pan with the knife.

"Have you been adding seasoning and tasting it?" Alex leaned into her ear with a smile, and made her squeak and laugh.

"Umm… _no~o_ …" She turned to him and bumped her forehead against his chin. Alex snickered and lifted his head again. He reached over the counter and checked what spices she had been using.

"Oh, cinnamon. Dangerous." He nodded in respect. "Gotta be careful with this one. I used too much on ribs once, thinking 'hey, no such thing as too much of a good thing', and almost threw up."

Penny was normally disgusted by even the mention of vomit, but laughed dreamily instead.

"Okay…" She hummed. Alex didn't seem to notice how complicit she was being, and started offering advice on seasoning while he sprinkled some in here and there. He tasted the mixture with a nod, then dumped in the remains of a can of tomato sauce, and set the lid on the pan.

"Let that simmer awhile." He lowered the heat then turned her around, and was pleasantly surprised to see her looking at him so lovingly.

"Hehe… oka~ay." She giggled and rested her head on his chest happily. Alex smirked, unsure of why him cooking was pacifying her so much, but was happy to reap the benefits. He wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug, and Penny quickly returned it, letting him squeeze her for longer than usual.

"Do you… want to um… watch a movie, or something?" Penny looked up at him again, and Alex felt a burst of excitement. In his experience, that was always an invitation to kiss. Of course when it came to Penny, he had no idea if that's what it meant, but he was hoping maybe it was universal.

"Sure." He gave her his best flirty smile, and she had to look away and giggle.

She took his hand and led him into the living room, walking them up to the green couch where her mother usually slept. Penny picked up the pillow from the right hand side of the couch and quickly threw it to the other side to cover an ugly colored stain, in hopes Alex hadn't noticed. To her relief, he casually plopped down on the center cushion and spread out comfortably, resting his arms over the back of the couch. Penny couldn't help but be reminded of her fantasies about living together with him, and had to turn away to hide her giddy smile.

"Do you um… have a preference in genre?" She peeked back at him while she picked up the remote. Alex grinned and shrugged.

"Nah. Whatever you want to watch is fine." He spoke casually. Penny nodded and made her way back to the couch. She looked to the window behind the couch, and in quick burst of paranoia, shut the blinds. The last thing she needed was for her mother to get wind that she and Alex were alone in the trailer together. Alex smiled at the dim light, thinking she was setting the mood. Penny sat beside him with a comfortable distance still between them, and turned on the TV. She changed it to a station that played old black and white films—her personal favorite. Alex was taken aback by the old sounding audio and greyscale video.

"You like these old timey movies?" He looked at her with a teasing smirk. Penny laughed nervously and nodded.

"I just think… I don't know, they're sweet." She looked down shyly. "A lot of them have um… older values, I guess."

She didn't want to say 'they have true love, and young sweethearts overcoming the odds to be with their soulmate', that was just too mushy to share. Alex nodded with a good humored smiled and adjusted himself against the couch again. The movie that was currently playing was ending, and a new one was about to start, but Penny seemed to already be absorbed in it. Alex looked down at the gap between them and pushed his lips out in thought before looking to Penny again. He smirked again slid his arm behind her shoulders, then tugged her over so she rested under his arm.

"A-Alex!" Penny squeaked, but Alex only jostled her with his forearm affectionately.

"Hm?" He smiled innocently, and Penny debated if she should argue away from him or not. It _was_ rather cozy up under his arm, and he smelled really nice. After a moment, she smiled bashfully at the floor and adjusted herself up against his side, keeping her hands in her lap.

* * *

Penny had been hesitant to sit with Alex's arm around her shoulder at first, but now she was balled up and hugging a pillow, tucked as tightly against him as she could be. She watched the girl in the movie softly crying, anguished thinking that her lover had died in the war, and whined sadly into her pillow. Alex snickered again, even though he had gotten scolded about doing so many times during the movie so far.

" _Oh_ …" Penny sighed sadly. "That would be so _awful_."

Alex couldn't help but smile again at how invested she was in the movie.

"I thought you said you watched this one before?" He questioned, watching her try and subtly wipe her eyes.

"I have!" She huffed defensively. "It doesn't make it less sad! After all they went through, she thinks he's dead… and they were going to get _married_ …"

She whined again and Alex tried to stifle a chuckle. He pulled her closer to him, very much taking advantage of her desperate need to be cuddled. Penny half clung to his side, still unwilling to let go of her pillow fully, and pressed her face against his chest.

"They were already looking at a home to buy…" Penny whimpered, and Alex couldn't help but laugh. She looked up at him angrily. " _Alex!_ "

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He laughed and readjusted his arm around her. "You're just so into this, it's cute."

"There's nothing _cute_ about losing the love of your life!" She huffed and set her head back on his chest hard. Alex snickered softly and rubbed her shoulder.

"You're right, I'm sorry." He smiled, and watched her bundle up harder. They hadn't kissed at all yet, but this was almost as good. She was so hilarious all worked up over this old movie, he thought.

The ending was as expected; the man came back from war—the last one off of the bus, of course—and they embraced and got married and bought the house he had promised her. Alex didn't think it was very serious, but Penny whined and dabbed at her eyes again.

"I love that movie…" She sniffed, smiling now about the happy ending.

"If you knew he was fine anyway, why were you crying about her thinking he was dead…" Alex asked, confused, while he watched the credits rolling to golden oldie music.

"Because it's sad!" Penny looked up at him again with an angry pout. "And I wasn't… _crying_."

She turned away and tried to fix her hair, and Alex couldn't help but smile. He thought she was so cute when she was giving him attitude. He leaned over her shoulder and brushed his lips against her neck.

"We should probably check on your food now…" His voice was husky again, and Penny nearly jumped out of her skin. She was suddenly on her feet and speed-walking to the kitchen.

"R-right, the food!" She stammered, taking up the spoon and trying to look busy. Alex was surprised; he'd never seen her move that fast. He smirked and got up to follow her, but her embarrassed demeanor had vanished by the time he reached her. Penny smelled the air and smiled.

"Alex, this smells great." She looked up to him, grinning excitedly. Carefully, she spooned some of the dish up and blew on it. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Alex looked down at the wooden spoon cautiously. The first taste test still hadn't fully left his mouth, but she looked so proud again, he couldn't say 'no'. He sighed, prayed to Yoba once, then leaned down and slurped it off the spoon. He swallowed and licked the remains off of his upper lip with a smile.

" _Mmm_ , much better." He hummed, and Penny clapped her hands excitedly.

"Yay!" She giggled and poured it into a bowl. She tried a spoonful herself, and hummed happily—it came out perfect! Penny looked back up to him with a blush. "Well, you helped me with basically _all_ of the cooking, so I guess I should call this _Chili de Alex_."

Alex quirked an eyebrow. ' _Chili de Alex_ '—kind of corny, but she was so adorable looking up at him like that.

"But it's _your_ dish, baby. You sure you wanna name it after me?" He leaned down and booped her nose with his. Penny squeal a laugh and turned away, blushing and giggling.

" _Alex!_ " She raised her shoulders to try and hide. He had called her 'baby'—that's all she could think, and couldn't stop giggling. Alex liked this response a lot, and quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, swaying her back and forth while she squealed more. In fear she might drop the bowl, she quickly set it on the counter, then turned in his arms to face him. Alex grinned down at her, and felt the urge to kiss her rising again. Penny seemed to be thinking the same thing, but surprised him with a kiss on the cheek instead of the lips. Before he could try to kiss her himself, she set her cheek on his collar.

"You're such a flirt…" She hummed, still swaying with him. "Thank you, for helping with the recipe. That was really nice…"

Alex blinked in amazement. He'd never met a girl that was so old-fashioned—she really seemed to think kissing on the cheek was a big deal. He hesitated a minute, then sighed through his nose with a smile. He placed his lips on the top of her head and kissed it a few times in quick succession.

"You're welcome." He mumbled into her hair, and Penny squeezed his middle tighter. She pulled away but remained in his arms, and Alex wanted nothing more in that moment then to scoop her up and throw her into her bed to kiss her like mad. But the sweet, trusting, _loving_ look in her eyes made him hesitate—he couldn't just _make out_ with her like she was just _some girl_. He was slowly becoming convinced he had to make their first kiss special. While he was in thought, Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a more intimate hug. He almost groaned a sigh; she was _not_ making it easy to hold back.

" _You're wonderful_." She breathed against his shoulder, and he felt chills run up his arms to his neck. Many people had called him things like 'wonderful' before, but the way Penny said it made him feel like she meant it with everything in her. It was exciting, but it also almost made him nervous. He pulled away and gave her a soft pap on the cheek.

"…I should probably get home, 'fore my grandma starts to worry." He smiled and Penny nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?" She smiled hopefully and he nodded, laughing in the back of his throat that she'd even question it anymore. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, if just to make her giggle one last time, then said goodnight.

* * *

As he walked out from her trailer, Alex felt like his skin was going to burn off from how badly he wanted her. He'd been imagining what kissing, among _other_ things, with her would be like for weeks, but with the budding physical affection between them now, the wait was starting to feel unbearable. As he walked around Penny's trash covered yard, he noticed Sam and Sebastian bumming around outside the saloon, and got a bright idea. He trotted over to them quickly.

"Hey, Sam!" He waved at him. Sam looked at him and smiled.

"Oh hey Alex, what's up." He rocked on his heels a second, ignoring Sebastian's sour expression at their visitor. Alex nodded a little, trying to return to his normal 'cool guy' exterior.

"So…" He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and looked around. "You and Penny are… pretty close right?"

Sam blinked, unaware that Alex even knew Penny at all.

"Yeah, I guess so." He nodded, considering how close he and Penny were. He was unsure if she had any other friends besides him and Maru, actually. Alex nodded again and looked off awhile before turning back to him.

"What uh…" He smirked a little. "What kind of _panties_ do you think she wears?"

Sam sputtered into a coughing fit, and Sebastian blinked in surprise. Alex didn't understand why Sam seemed so shocked.

" _What?_ " Sam coughed more and then straightened up. "I don't _know_ , dude."

He hesitated a second then leaned in.

"I can't be talking about other girls' _panties_ , man! What if my _wife_ heard about it?" He whispered urgently, and Sebastian chortled, unconvinced Josée would even care. Alex shrugged and laughed.

"I'm just _saying_ , if you could take a guess, y'know?" He smirked at the idea. "Since you know her better."

"Umm…" Sam couldn't concentrate enough to imagine anything. Sebastian took a drag from his cigarette, then spoke suddenly.

"I bet she wears ones with little bows on them." His voice was low and monotone, but loud enough to catch the two other men's attention. Alex was surprised to hear Sebastian engaging in what he considered 'regular guy talk', seeing as he was so weird, but he and Sam quickly considered his prospect. After a moment, Alex nodded with a smile.

"That sounds right." He thought aloud, then waved the pair off and headed home to indulge in some more self-serving fantasies.

* * *

 **AN:** It was all sweet until Alex had to go and be a horn dog… oh well! Heheh :3 And Seb… you little perv

Didn't think I'd update again, but this one just poured out of me. All those cute clichés… they're killin' me. You're probably thinking "JUST KISS ALREADY" but all the bachelor/ettes in SDV take sooo long to kiss you (except for Emily lol), I feel like it's only reasonable to drag this out painfully long.

And I realized when looking at the food Alex makes you post-marriage that he must know how to cook! I mean; "Baked Fish"? "Dish o' the Sea"? That's a lot more skill than "Fried Egg". And since Penny's 6 Heart is her failing at cooking, I thought it'd be cute that instead of letting her fail, he'd want to show her how to fix it :/3

Anywho, Happy Valentine's Day!

 _**X_ , sorry! I had to google the reference, and I think it's the Megaman one? I never played/watched any Megaman, so that went right over me unfortunately ^^;


	11. Invitations

Penny breathed in the warm summer air happily, and contently watched Vincent and Jas stopping to squat and investigate flowers and bugs during their walk. Despite not having tutoring with them over the summer, Penny still liked to take them to the library once a week and encourage them to read for fun. Vincent was always harder to convince, but he did seem to enjoy exploring the area near the museum at least. The children skipped over the bridge, laughing and chasing a dragonfly, while Penny followed close behind. As the crossed the threshold of the bridge, however, a man's voice called out to them.

"Hey kiddos." Alex smirked from under the shade of the ice cream stand's umbrella. He had his arms folded on the counter, leaning over it casually. Penny was startled, having forgotten that he was working the stand that day, but quickly smiled at him, almost dreamily. The children seemed less enthusiastic to have him speaking to them, and hurried to Penny's side for some protection. Alex laughed, then gestured toward the stand with his chin.

"You guys want some ice cream?" Alex grinned, and both Vincent and Jas immediately perked up. Penny was surprised by the offer, but didn't even have time to react before they rushed over to the stand.

" _Ice cream?_ " The asked excitedly, trying to hop high enough to see over the counter. Alex laughed and nodded down at them. Penny furrowed her brow in concern and joined the children at the counter.

"Alex… I can't afford to buy them any ice cream." She spoke gently, already worried about getting the children's hopes up too high. Alex snorted with a smile.

"Nah, it's on the house." He looked down to Vincent and Jas again, and they both yelled happily. They immediately started to look at the flavors listed on the side of the stand while Penny looked to Alex in disbelief.

"Alex, you can't just—" She tried to whisper, but Alex cut her off with a quick _tut-tut-tut_.

"Sure I can. It's just a little single scoop, and it's so _hot_ , Miss Penny." He grinned teasingly at her, echoed by Vincent and Jas agreeing with several variations of 'yeah, it's hot, Miss Penny!'

Penny looked down to them, then back to Alex, and relented with a sigh.

"Oh, _alright_." She smiled as Vincent and Jas cheered excitedly. She watched with an adoring smile while Alex took both of their orders, and handed them each a single scoop cone. She had never seen him interact with children before, and it was making her heart flutter at how easy he was with both of them. Jas and Vincent rounded the corner of the booth, then crawled up onto the stools on the side of the counter and began messily eating their ice cream. Alex nodded in approval before turning his attention back to Penny.

"And what can I get _you_ , _Miss Penny_." His voice was noticeably more flirtatious, and Penny looked away with a bashful smile.

"I'm fine, Alex, thank you." She looked back up to him.

"Aw, c'mon Miss Penny, it's _so~o_ hot out." He almost purred, twirling the ice cream scoop in his fingers expertly. "And it's _free_."

Penny giggled into her hand, embarrassed to have him flirting with her in front of the children, but already enamored with him for interacting with them so gently. She sighed and shrugged a little.

"…pistachio, please." She crossed her arms, holding her elbows gently while she watched him work. Alex smiled happily and expertly scooped up a ball of green ice cream, pressing it perfectly into the cone until he was satisfied with the shape. He handed it to her, and lingered his fingers against her own while she took it. Penny tried to not giggle too much in front of Jas and Vincent, but couldn't help herself with Alex flirting with her while she ate. He was obviously covering all the innuendo under innocent topics, and Penny knew that the children didn't understand any of it, but it was still embarrassing. After she finished her own cone, she helped wipe the kids' mouths and hands clean, then nodded toward Alex.

"Say thank you to Alex for the ice cream, children." She instructed, looking up at him with a soft blush.

"Thank you, Mr. Alex!" They both said in unison. Alex quirked an eyebrow at the title, but grinned and bowed his head a little in reply. Penny laughed into her hand gently then stepped to the counter herself.

"Thank you, that was very sweet." She smiled at him, and Alex leaned on the counter further, craning his head up at her.

"Am I gunna see you after work?" He spoke quietly now, with his mouth curled into a flirty smirk, and Penny giggled shyly. She tapped her fingers on the counter and considered.

"…would you like to come with me to the library tonight? Elliot's having a book reading and I was going to go…" She peeked up at him. Alex didn't think a book reading sounded like much of a date, but he'd take _any_ excuse to see her these days.

"Sure." He smiled and tried to rub her hand, but Penny pulled it away with an embarrassed laugh—she didn't want the children to see her doing anything inappropriate, after all! Alex smiled, excited to be teased, and nodded her a goodbye. Penny turned and ushered Vincent and Jas to the library, granting herself one last peek at him before disappearing inside.

* * *

Alex leaned against Mayor Lewis' backyard fence, watching the door to Penny's trailer expectantly. He had gone home to change, and was now waiting for her to come outside from a safe distance. Penny had expressed her concern about her mother seeing him hanging around the trailer many times, and he did his best to comply, if only to make Penny less anxious.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Penny opened the door to the trailer, failing to notice Alex leaning against the pickets. The sun had set already, but the sky was still a warm pink, and Alex thought the hue made her look even softer than normal. He watched her start to walk along her trailer and presumably to his house with a grin, then whistled loudly at her before she got too far. Penny straightened up at the sound and looked around a moment before her eyes finally landed on him. She smiled in delight and trotted over to him. As she reached him, she moved into a hug with him naturally, and relished in how normal it had become to hold him.

"Hi." She smiled up at him happily, and Alex couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey." He gave her chin a nudge with his knuckle, and Penny giggled at the ground. "You ready to go to this… book thing?"

"Yes!" She grinned and tugged his arm in the direction of the library before starting to walk. Alex walked after her, listening to her while she babbled. "I've been looking forward to Elliot releasing a book for… _forever_ , it feels like. When he moved to town, everyone was abuzz about him being an aspiring author, but I was starting to think we'd never see anything from him."

Alex watched her while she spoke excitedly and felt a pinch of jealousy. He never saw much of Elliot outside of him coming and going from his cottage while he was at the beach, but he knew he was very artsy and spoke funny. Penny probably read about guys like that all the time. He tried to ignore the feeling, and held the door open for Penny when they reached the library. She smiled at him appreciatively, and he felt his ego soothe for the moment.

There were more people at the event than Alex had anticipated. He assumed some old folks would go, but it felt like half the town was here—he even spotted Sam and Sebastian hanging around a corner with Abby. He blinked in surprise, but was quickly yanked in another direction before he could ponder it more.

"Here!" Penny smiled and dragged him to the top left of the study area. "Elliot's standing right over here, and I want us to be able to hear him clearly."

Alex looked to his side and saw Elliot looking through his book over and over. Even the way he _skimmed pages_ seemed regal. He turned back to Penny and realized that Maru had joined them. Maru glanced up at him in surprise, then back to Penny.

"Alex wanted to come?" Maru questioned her, peeking at the towering jock again. Penny beamed happily.

"Yes! I asked him earlier." She smiled, then looked up to Alex proudly. Alex looked down at them and smiled nervously with a shrug.

"Wow." Maru blinked. "You've really done a number on him, Penny."

She laughed, and Penny scolded her in embarrassment for the comment. Alex wanted to ask what Maru meant by that, but suddenly Elliot was calling for everyone's attention. He graciously thanked everyone for their audience, and dedicated the book to Josée, and his "dearest friend", Leah. Alex leaned against one of the bookshelves and tried to get comfy, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Penny. She looked so enamored as Elliot began to speak, like she hinged on his every word. Alex frowned, feeling inadequate in comparison. Elliot spoke clearly and confidently, with flourishes and rolling R's. He was probably well-educated, and had a huge vocabulary, while Alex was still using the 'sound it out' method to try and pronounce anything with more than two syllables.

He sulked a little, hands jammed in his jacket pockets, while Penny soaked up Elliot's words. People began leaving as the reading dragged on, even Maru, and he couldn't help but feel envious. The longer this guy talked the dumber he felt. He was starting to think he was going to finish the whole book, when Elliot finally came to a comfortable stop and bowed courteously. Everyone clapped, especially Penny, and Elliot walked over to Josée and Leah to speak to them privately. Penny turned to Alex with an excited smile.

"That was wonderful, don't you think? So romantic!" She gushed, and Alex was unsure if she meant Elliot or the book. He nodded and agreed halfheartedly, before asking to leave. Penny assumed he was less exuberant about literature than she was, which most people were, and didn't let it dampen her mood. She stopped to thank Elliot for the event and complimented his writing before her and Alex finally left.

The pair walked along the now dark river, with no light but the moon and the soft glow of a streetlamp fading behind them.

"—I just _loved_ the setting. A train station, so cliché, but _always_ romantic." Penny laughed softly, imagining the scene in her head. Alex walked beside her, distracted by his self-doubt still. He'd never be one of those thespian types, and wondered if Penny must see him as a big ape holding a book or something.

"…you like guys like that?" He asked, watching the river gleam in the dark. He glanced to the side and saw her looking up at him inquisitively.

"Like Horatio?" Penny asked, assuming he meant the main character of the book. Alex shook his head and tried to muffle a groan.

"Like _Elliot_." He looked away again, frowning and trying his best not to sound jealous. "Guys that talk like they read a hundred books a day and… don't need help pronouncing big words."

Penny stopped and stared up at him in surprise. Alex felt embarrassed for asking the minute the question passed his lips, but also stopped and faced her, figuring he should at least have the guts to hear her answer. Even with Alex doing his best to not make eye contact, Penny could tell there was an unusual lack of confidence in his eyes, and she suddenly realized that he was feeling self-conscious in comparison to Elliot. Her heart swelled with pity and adoration, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Any time he was truly honest with her she felt renewed affection for him.

"Well… he does speak rather nicely, doesn't he?" She spoke thoughtfully, and Alex frowned more. Penny looked back to him. "…but I think he's a too rich in taste for me."

She laughed softly, and Alex raised his head to look at her again.

"I mean, can you imagine trying to cook dinner for a man like that? I can barely make chili, let alone _lobster_ , or, goodness, _escargot!_ " Penny snickered at the idea and started walking again, hoping he would follow. Alex stared after her a moment before trotting to her side again.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Penny looked up to him lovingly, then closed her eyes and gave a gentle shrug.

"I just like things simpler, I guess…" She hummed, reminded of her domestic fantasies about Alex. "Maybe that's boring, but I wasn't raised with wine and caviar, you know? I'm perfectly happy with burgers for dinner."

Alex looked at her genuine smile, and felt his usual confident, wide grin spread across his face. He couldn't help himself—he scooped her up bridal style in his arms and spun her around.

"Oh, _yeah?_ " He asked again, happily teasing her this time, and Penny did her best not to squeal a laugh.

"Alex!" She hugged onto his neck for balance and laughed with him. He set her back down, but wouldn't let go of her arms, and tried to dance her around in haphazard circles. Penny was powerless to stop him, and could only laugh while Alex regained the rest of his confidence. He pulled her close, and she gave him a whap on the chest for roughhousing with her.

"You brute!" She scolded him through a giddy smile, and Alex only laughed.

" _Oh_." He slipped his forearm around her back and pulled her into a messy waltzing position. "Am I a _scoundrel?_ "

He spoke dramatically, quoting one of the books they had read together. Penny gasped a laugh, and Alex cackled proudly while he tugged her home, half dancing all the way. Once they reached the trailer steps, her released his hold on her back and hand, and replaced his hands on her waist. He lifted her up, making her squeal again, and set her on the top step.

"Alex, you're ridiculous!" She laughed, trying to keep her voice low, and gripped his shoulders. Alex was still almost eye level with her, even with her on the top step, and he leaned in, knowing very well she'd laugh and jump away from him trying to kiss her. Penny giggled and hugged his neck tight, if only to escape his teasing. Alex grinned happily and wrapped his arms around her to give her a squeeze. They both hummed soft laughter while he swayed them back and forth, then parted slowly.

Alex looked up at her with his eyes shining, then bowed faux-gentlemanly, taking her hand and pressing it to his forehead as he did so. Penny laughed, knowing very well he was making fun of Elliot's theatrical behavior. She pursed her lips into a smile when he pulled back and left a few kisses on the back of her hand. As he stood, he adjusted her hand in his so he was carefully holding her fingers, and left one more kiss on her knuckles, watching her closely. Penny tried to keep eye contact with him, but had to turn away and giggle with her eyes shut. Alex smiled proudly and finally let go of her.

"Night, baby girl." He grinned more, and Penny giggled into her hand at the pet name.

"Goodnight, Alex." A pet name like 'honey' or 'darling' almost fluttered out of her mouth instead of 'Alex', but she didn't have the courage to call him something so dear yet.

* * *

"—he was so _genuine_ , and it was so _sweet_ , and he's just _so…!_ " Penny sighed, rolling backwards and trying to find a word to describe Alex. Maru cocked an eyebrow up from the other side of the bench.

"…wonderful?" She offered, seeing as that's what Penny had called him probably twenty times already. Penny laughed into her hands, only half-ashamed for talking Maru's ear off about Alex. She was really starting to believe that they would have a future together, and couldn't stop gushing about him. "I'm sorry, Maru. He's just—"

Penny started to speak, when Maru threw up her hands with a look of fear in her eyes, and silently shushed her over and over. Penny blinked in surprise, confused until Maru pointed behind her. She turned around, and saw Alex jogging towards them. He was in a black muscle shirt and a pair of gym shorts, and Penny couldn't keep a giggle from tittering out. She turned back to Maru, and raised her shoulders happily when he stopped next to them.

"Hey, Penny." He grinned at her, and Penny peeked at him with a small smile. He was already sweaty from running in the hot weather, and his shirt clung to his torso tightly. It left little to the imagination, and Penny giggled again, this time at his gorgeous physique.

"Hi…" She smiled up at him shyly. Alex bounced an eyebrow in interest and stepped closer, leaning down and into her neck. He barely touched her before Penny squeaked a laugh and shouldered him away.

"What are you two talking about?" Alex gave her a teasing smile, still squatting close to her. Penny laughed into her hand, too timid to let him know that he was the topic of conversation.

"Do you need something?" She asked, shying away more. Alex snickered and straightened up again, stretching out to purposefully show off his body.

"Well—" He grunted and popped his back. "My birthday's this weekend, and we're having a little party at the beach. I wanted you to come."

He smiled at her, and Penny blinked, almost in awe. She looked to Maru in surprise, and Maru could only shrug. Neither had much experience in partying, and certainly not in the kind of parties Alex and his friends might host. Alex watched them exchange glances, then smiled and leaned down again so he was in Maru's face this time.

"You can bring your friend, too." He stared at Maru with playful curiosity, and Maru backed up against the bench nervously. Alex turned his attention back to Penny, then suddenly dropped his expression.

"Oh!" He stood up again and reached into his shorts' pocket. He pulled out a handmade card that was warped and covered in glitter glue and stickers. "Here."

Alex handed it to Penny, and she quickly realized it was an invitation.

"That's got the date and times and stuff on it. Haley insisted on making them—I think she just likes doing artsy-craftsy stuff." He looked off, scratching his sideburn in thought. He hoped that Penny wouldn't be upset from him mentioning Haley, and his fears were eased when she looked up to him with a blush and a smile.

"Um… alright." She laughed softly. "I'll be there."

Alex grinned excitedly and nodded, then his expression changed into something lustier. He leaned over again with a smirk.

"And why don't you wear a cute little bikini for me?" He winked at her, and Penny nearly gagged. Alex laughed at her response, and waved at the pair before returning to his jog. Maru looked over to Penny in disbelief, and Penny glanced back, already looking frazzled.

"…do you even _own_ a bikini?" Maru asked, and Penny dropped her head, blushing horribly.

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter was a lot of fun to write! Lots of fluff again, and exploring Alex's self-doubt is always great plot fodder… and seeing him actually interacting with the kids is cute too.

I chose the "romantic" story option on my first run with Elliot's 8 Heart event, so that's what that all was, if you don't know :D


	12. New Sensations

"This is… _humiliating_." Penny whined under her breath, tugging at the strap of her bathing suit. She had no two piece suits to wear, so she was sporting a purple one piece that had a skirted bottom instead—but it was still embarrassing walking around so _nude_. She even had a towel around her shoulders, a floppy sunhat, and beach skirt tied at her waist, and still managed to feel too exposed. The only time she ever really wore a bathing suit at all was when she visited the bathhouse by the train station.

"You're fine." Maru tried to assure her with a laugh. She was toting a towel herself, along with a book bag, and a self-opening beach umbrella she had been wanting to test. Penny groaned pitifully and adjusted her hat again, making her companion laugh.

"Don't _laugh_ at me, Maru." She huffed sadly, still too embarrassed to be mad. Penny had been dreading this self-proclaimed 'Walk of Shame' even more after the Luau a few days prior, when Alex insistently hinted about his desire to see her in a bikini the whole day. She hoped he wouldn't be upset with her for wearing a one piece instead. She begrudgingly eyed Maru's thick-strapped grey and black one piece and skirt combo—it didn't cover her any more than her own suit covered herself, but _Maru_ wasn't going to this party so see her maybe-someday-boyfriend _, was she?_ They walked over the bridge to the beach, and Penny felt her stomach twist at the sound of a radio blaring.

"You're just trying so hard for this guy, Penny. I never thought we'd be going to a party so you could flirt with some _boy_." Maru gave her a grin and Penny pouted at her unhappily. She couldn't even retort before their slip-ons crunched on sand, and both looked up to find themselves at an entrance of a stereotypical high school-esque beach party. They blinked in astonishment at all the conventionally beautiful people eating, drinking, and mingling, then looked to each other in worry, both thinking they were in over their heads. Suddenly a familiar voice called out.

" _Hey, Penny!_ " Sam yelled from a ways down the beach, waving excitedly. The girls could barely see him, but his giant, blonde hair was unmistakable, especially with two shady, black and purple figures sitting behind him under an umbrella. Penny laughed nervously at his cheerful attitude, but was quickly distracted by another figure jogging up to them. Alex had heard Sam call to her from the other side of the beach, and almost knocked a couple over to get to the road to greet her. Penny immediately saw that he was wearing nothing but a pair of green swim trunks, and forced herself to avert her eyes away from his toned body.

"Hey! You made it." Alex's smile gleamed in the summer sun, and his eyes quickly started to sparkle upon seeing her outfit. Penny tried to smile, but could only laugh nervously and tug at the towel around her shoulders more, feeling self-conscious again. His bare, rippling chest muscles were doing her nerves no favors, either. Alex's eyebrows bounced excitedly, and he quickly moved forward to pull the towel off of her.

"Here, let me get that for you." He grinned, and slipped it off of her before she could stop him, exposing her shoulders instantly. Penny _eeped_ , and tried to grab it back, but Alex quickly whipped it over his own shoulder. He was always a fan of warm, tan skin, and Penny was definitely in need of some sun—though he thought her pale shoulders looked almost creamy instead of grey and sad. While he debated what she'd look like with tan lines, Penny attempted to fight her towel back from him, but shied away after she touched his bare chest without thinking. She had gotten so used to touching him that she had forgotten all about her aversion to such intimate contact until she felt his soft skin under her palm. Alex grinned at that, and leaned forward to take the umbrella and bag from Maru as well.

"Oh!" Maru gasped, hands suddenly empty, and watched Alex prop the umbrella over his broad shoulder.

" _No~o_ problem, _ladies_." Alex bowed a little and started to step back into the sand again. Maru looked to Penny and laughed at his haughty attitude, but Penny was too preoccupied with covering her shoulders to respond. Alex started walking across the beach, and the two had no choice but to follow him. He led them to a spot a ways away from the party, close to the edge of the forest, and jammed the umbrella down into the sand with one strong thrust. He gave it a little shake to make sure it was stable, then smiled at his work. He shook Penny's towel out and laid it near the umbrella, then took a step back to gesture at it graciously.

"See? Nice little spot, not too close to everybody, but close enough." He looked to Penny, hoping for approval, and Penny smiled at his attempt to be thoughtful.

"Thank you, Alex. This is a good spot." She shrugged her shoulder slightly, and Alex beamed. He was quickly at her side again and grabbed her arm, excitedly pulling her toward the shore.

"C'mon, let's go down to the water!" Alex grinned at her, giving her arm another tug, but Penny jammed her heels in the sand in an attempt to stop him.

" _W-wait!_ Wait! I need to um… take off my shoes, and—and I need sunscreen!" She stammered, trying to yank her arm out of his grip. Alex laughed and let her scamper back to the safety of her towel. He dropped down beside her, and watched her rifle through the book bag frantically. He took the opportunity to enjoy her bare back, and reached out to touch it. Before he could set his fingers on her skin, she turned back around, and he pouted at the lost opportunity. He peered over her shoulder and watched her reading over her sun block with a chuckle.

"You know, you could _use_ some sun." He commented, noting the ridiculously high SPF content on the tube.

"That might be well and good for _you_ , Alex, but I will burn horribly in weather like this!" She huffed and squeezed a small dollop onto her fingers. As she spread it over her forearm, a brilliant idea came to Alex.

"Can _I_ rub your sunscreen on for you, then?" He leaned in closer with a cheeky grin. Penny jumped a little at the suggestion, and stared at him nervously. Alex raised his eyebrow flirtatiously and started to scoot behind her before she could protest. She felt his shin press up against her butt and nearly jumped out of her skin, but Alex grabbed her shoulders and kept her firmly planted on the ground. He reached over her shoulder to take the tube from her, and the feeling of his chest against her shoulders took all of the breath out of her. Alex hummed a little tune while he squirted a healthy amount of sunblock into his hand.

"Would you move those straps for me, baby?" He grinned, speaking casually, and Penny felt her blush spreading up to her ears.

"U-uh…" She mumbled, knowing she would need to drop her thin swimsuit straps in order to apply the lotion properly. Maru, who had been lost in this exchange, decided this was her cue to leave. She sat up from her towel and walked around them.

"Is it alright if I get a hotdog or something?" She asked Alex and thumbed towards the barbeque, trying her best to not be uncomfortable by him attempting to fondle Penny. Alex nodded and jerked his head in the same direction.

"Sure, sure! Help yourself, we brought plenty of good food." He smiled, excited to be left alone with Penny. Maru seemed happy with that answer, and left the pair to themselves, much to Penny's dismay. How could she just abandon her like that? Before she could debate her friend's betrayal a second longer, she felt Alex's clean hand gently take one of her swimsuit straps and slide it off of her shoulder. She gasped and hugged her chest in an attempt to make sure the rest of her suit didn't drop with it. Alex chuckled and moved her other strap.

"Alex…" Penny whimpered, looking away. She had never felt so exposed in her life. Alex only hummed and rubbed the sunscreen between his palms, then began to gently rub it into her back. She gasped at the feeling, and had to purse her lips to stifle a sigh as he started to massage her. His hands were strong and warm, and it felt wonderful when he started to knead his palms into her shoulders.

"Yeah?" Alex grinned and tried to nuzzle against her ear.

"Stop…" She sighed, squirming slowly. It felt great, but this was more of a massage than applying sunscreen.

"I'm not do~oing anything." He snickered, and moved his focus to her arms, rubbing them playfully. Penny giggled, a little breathlessly, and tried to shrug him off.

"You know d-darn well what you're doing…" She peeked back at him, and Alex's eyes lit up again.

"Such _foul language_ from a school teacher!" He laughed and brought her straps back up with two small snaps. Penny laughed too, and managed to push him away.

" _Please_ , Alex." She huffed with a smile and managed to get the tube back from him. With some insistent begging, she was able to convince him to let her apply sunblock to her legs without his help, and was then promptly being led to the shore. They trotted past some of Alex's school friends, and Penny did her best to not feel inadequate around such a popular crowd. She felt a little better when they passed Sam, until he whistled at her playfully.

" _Woo!_ Looking _good_ , Penny! You came to party?" Sam laughed, lounging in the sand next to Abigail and Sebastian. Penny felt her face burn at the comment—Sam always tried to boost her confidence by loudly complimenting her at parties, but it only served to make her more embarrassed. Alex was too excited to have Penny at the beach with him to be bothered by Sam's comment, and continued leading her to the water. He easily walked out into the ocean up to his knees, but Penny hesitated.

"Wait…!" Penny gasped, feeling the cool water around her ankles. Alex looked back at her, still holding her forearm, and smiled playfully.

"What's the matter?" He snickered, watching her sway nervously.

"It's cold! Let me get used to the water first…" Penny watched a wave wash over her feet, and the cold water swell up to her shins. She squirmed at the sensation, and Alex had to hold in a giggle. She was so cute and careful about _everything_.

"C'ma~an." He grinned and dragged her closer to him slowly. Penny squeaked from the chill of the water around her legs, and gasped again when he continued backing up into the waves. When they were up to their stomach, Penny's protesting ended with a muffled shriek, and Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"Alex!" She wailed, pushing her knees together and squirming to try and shake off the goosebumps. Alex stepped closer to her and hugged her to his chest, and her whining came to an abrupt halt.

"It's not that _bad_ …" Alex purred and rubbed up and down her back lovingly. Penny stared out across the shoreline with her ear and hands pressed against his chest, shocked past embarrassment. She had never felt so much of his skin at once, and could barely process each sensation made by his movements. After another moment, she closed her eyes and let the feeling soak in; his skin was radiating warmth from hours in the sun, and the cold water around her was quickly forgotten. Her decided bliss was interrupted when Alex started walking them out further.

"How far are we going?" Penny pulled back and noticed the water was over her chest now.

"Don't you wanna swim?" Alex smiled and moved his hands to her biceps. Penny looked up to him nervously, since she wasn't a particularly strong swimmer. Before she could protest, Alex took a final step back, knowing very well there was a drop, and pulled her into the open water with him. Penny squeaked in fear and clung to his neck, and tried to swing her legs enough to keep herself afloat. Alex laughed and easily kept himself above the water. He started to back stroke, and bobbed them slowly toward the pier. Penny felt safer the closer they got to the wooden beams of the dock, and let out a calming breath when she felt the top of a large rock below her feet. She tested her balance on it, and gingerly let go of Alex's neck in favor of leaning on one of the barnacle ridden pillars. Even though she was still shoulders-deep in water, having something below her feet made her feel more comfortable

"Wow… I've never been out this far." Penny looked out from the shade of the pier at the seemingly endless ocean. Alex grinned and swam closer to her again.

"This isn't even that far out!" He teased and floated on his back in front of her. Penny giggled and pressed closer to the beam.

"Well, my father would take me swimming at the beach sometimes, but I was so small then…" She continued looking out at the water. Alex watched her carefully, and noticed a hint of melancholy in her eyes. She blinked and shook her head fondly. "I barely needed a few feet of water to swim in back then."

Alex continued watching her, nervous that he had unintentionally upset her. Penny seemed unaware of his concern, and enjoyed the sound of the water lapping around them a moment longer before looking to him again. The smile on her lips relaxed his worries, and he turned himself upright to move closer to her. He found some footing on the rock she was standing on, and leaned in, making her press against the beam with a nervous giggle. As he continued leaning in, Penny sunk down lower, and realized only after a wave hit her chin that her curls were completely submerged in water. She popped back up in a panic.

" _Oh!_ My hair...!" She tried to look back at it as she felt the hairspray giving way, unable to do anything else. Alex watched in awe as her red curls unfurled and rolled down her neck and shoulders, stopping just over her chest. Penny looked down at her hair and huffed sadly. When she looked back up however, she was surprised to see Alex staring at her in amazement. He had never seen her with her hair down before, and was surprised how drastically it changed her appearance—she looked _gorgeous_. Penny didn't even have time to ask him what was wrong before he dipped down and started nuzzling against her temple.

" _Mmm..._ " His throat rumbled while he happily rubbed his forehead into her hair. Penny squeaked a laugh and hugged onto his shoulders again, while Alex wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Alex!" She laughed, then gasped when his face made its way to her neck. "Alex, don't…!"

"—you're so _beautiful_." He hummed again and kissed her cheek. He raised his head back up and booped her nose with his. "You know, you haven't even said 'Happy Birthday' to me yet."

His smile was warm and teasing, but Penny immediately felt a twinge of concern amongst the butterflies in her stomach.

"O-oh! I'm sorry… I guess I didn't even have the presence of mind with—" Her excuse was cut short when Alex leaned his head down again and started kissing the crook of her neck. The feeling jolted her forward, and she clung to him in desperation.

"Wait, don't…" Her voice was breathless as he kissed across her throat, and she managed to take a gasp in when he moved up to her chin. Unable to look at him, she whipped her head to the side the moment they were facing each other again. Alex didn't seem to mind, and started kissing at her ear playfully. It was dawning on Penny rather quickly why he had wanted to bring her under the boardwalk. It took all her willpower to unhinge her hands from his shoulders and give his chest a small push.

"A-Alex, stop! Please stop." Penny gasped, trying desperately to gather herself. His mouth felt wonderful, but it was just too much too quickly. Alex snickered and nuzzled up against her cheek. He started to glide his hands up and down her sides, and Penny moved her own down to grip at his forearms.

"Did you wear this just for me~e?" He moved closer again, now that Penny had stopped pushing at his chest. "It's not a bikini, but it's still really cute."

"I… I don't have any two pieces…" She mumbled, and finally managed to peek at him. The way he was looking at her made her shiver, and she had to look away again. Alex grinned and started rubbing her hips rougher.

"That's okay, you look hot in a one piece too." He pulled back a little to look again and Penny turned her head enough to stare at him like he'd lost his mind. She had been called a lot of things in her life, but 'hot' was not one of them. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in embarrassment, then gave the top of his hand a smack below the water, in hopes it might deter his groping.

"Don't say such… crude things." She huffed. Alex's lips curled into a bemused grin, and he bowed his head to poke at her with his nose again.

"What, that you're hot?" He asked, and laughed when Penny turned away with a groan. She had never thought much about herself being sexually appealing. It seemed ridiculous to imagine someone lusting after her, and could Alex _honestly_ find her all that attractive when all of his female party guests were busty and in string bikinis?

"…we should return to the party." She turned to him again, watching his eyes curiously. She still wasn't very confident in her ability to read people, but hoped she might be able to tell if he meant what he was saying about her if she looked hard enough. Alex chuckled and tried to move his face back into her neck, but Penny shouldered him away.

"What for? We could stay here all day…" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him again. Penny giggled and tried her best to not be too anxious about touching him with them both so bare.

"Alex, it's your birthday party! You should spend time with your friends, and Maru came here _with_ me. I shouldn't leave her alone for too long…" She tried to reason with him, but couldn't stop smiling and laughing softly while he kissed at her face.

"Ah, they don't care." He rolled his head nonchalantly. "I wanna spend today with you…"

He slipped his hands down her arms, and managed to lock his fingers with hers beneath the water. Penny chuckled and rested against him while he rocked them back and forth.

"Don't be rude, Alex…" She hummed gently against his collar. "And you can't tell me that you invited me to the beach just to hide under the pier…"

Alex looked down and was excited to see her smiling at him playfully. In all honestly, he had forgotten all of his plans for activities that he wanted to do with her the moment she had arrived—but she was right, he did have several things he had been hoping to share with her. She didn't seem to spend much time at the beach, and he wanted to give her a thorough experience, since as far as he was concerned, the beach was the best place to be!

"…I guess." He looked off fondly, then stepped backwards into deeper water. "C'mon then. Have you eaten at all?"

Penny smiled and carefully entered the water. She thought that her hair floating around and sticking to her skin was annoying, but hopefully Maru would have something to pull it back with.

"No, I haven't. A barbeque sounds good right now." She did her best to float over to him, and Alex could easily tell she was a weak swimmer. He snorted confidently and turned his back to her.

"Here, hold onto me." He wriggled his shoulders at her, and Penny laughed, already curious about what game he was playing now. She placed her hands on his shoulders, then gasped when he backed up against her before propelling himself forward. Penny squeaked and grabbed frantically at his neck, managing to pull herself tight against him while he started to swim out into open water again. Alex laughed at her shocked sputtering and continued stroking his arms through the water expertly. After only a few seconds of treading water a wave pushed them the rest of the way to the shore, and they half tumbled together onto the sand.

Alex sat up first and watched Penny sit up on her elbows as another wave lapped the sand. She looked up at him still leaning on one hip, and he wasn't sure if it was the sun shining on her, or her hair clinging around her neck and shoulders, but it made his heart flutter. He tried to ignore what was surely a huge, dorky blush spreading over his cheeks and helped her up.

"C'mon, I'll get you a burger." He held her hand and started leading her towards the crowd, and Penny felt like she was walking on air. She squeezed his hand in hers and followed him happily.

* * *

She had mentioned loving melon to Alex when she noticed one cut up on a table, and he had brought her more slices than she could have ever hoped to consume. Now she was resting under the shade of Maru's self-opening umbrella—that worked 'like a charm', Maru had boasted—and was watching Alex play a game of volleyball with some friends. He had tried desperately to get her to play on his side, but she had seemed to excite his ego by telling him she would love to watch him play instead.

"Oh my." Maru commented from the other side of the umbrella as she watched Alex spike the volleyball over the net and into one of his friend's stomachs, making them fall back into the sand. Penny covered her mouth in shock, and Alex turned toward them with a smile. Penny's shocked expression fell into an awkward laugh and she waved at him shyly. That seemed to pacify his need for her attention, and he went back to destroying his friends.

" _God_ , Penny." Maru marveled and dug around in a bag of chips. "He's in _love_ with you."

"Oh Maru, don't say things like that…" Penny hummed in embarrassment, though her giddy smile betrayed her. She fluffed her newly done-up hair bun, and tried to act casual.

"…and _you're_ in love with _him, too_." Maru laughed and turned away to ignore Penny's scolding about gossiping and minding her own business. She stretched a little and looked to the now red and pink sky before turning toward Penny again.

"Well, I think I'm going to head home." She smiled and started packing up her book. "It's a long walk back up the mountain, and have this feeling that after the sun sets, there's not going to be room under this umbrella for three."

Penny gagged at Maru's suggestion, and Maru couldn't help but laugh. She shook out her towel and slung the book bag over her shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Maru beamed at her cheerfully, and headed toward the path back to town. Penny felt herself sink a little—she loved spending time with Alex, but now she had no buffer, no _excuse_ to have him hold back. He had been more physical with her under the boardwalk than he had ever been before, and she was nervous about what he was expecting from her, since it was his birthday, after all.

Alex was elated to see Maru leaving, and could barely continue the game with the possibilities of the impending night flying around his head. As the sun began slipping past the horizon, most of the party decided to gather around a bonfire and drink. Alex knew Penny's distaste for beer, and decided against having anything to drink, even with his old gridball teammates hassling him about it. Instead, he grabbed a couple of bottles of juice and left to the darkening spot along the tree line where Penny was lying and reading a book.

Penny noticed him walking over even in the dim light, and felt her anxiety spike. She had already watched another couple walk a ways down the shore and start making out—and Yoba knows what else—behind a rock, and couldn't help but assume Alex was thinking something along the same line. She tried to ignore the feeling, and smiled up at him sweetly.

"Hey." Alex grinned and sat down on the towel beside her. He lounged on his side, blocking her from the crowd on the other side of the beach, and offered her a bottle of apple juice. Penny laughed softly and took it from carefully. She thanked him, then set it and her book down near the umbrella pole before rolling back over to face him.

"How are you doing, baby girl?" He rested his head on his arm and played with her fingers with his free hand. Penny hummed and nudged closer to him when he kissed her forehead. She was unsure of what their relationship officially was, but she would gladly accept the title of 'baby girl' for now.

"I'm fine. The beach sun makes me a little sleepy, I think." She murmured and curled up closer to him. Alex smiled and moved his hand to the curve of her waist. Penny sighed his name, and he felt the same bubbly feeling as before run up his body. He had never been affected by such small things someone he was involved with did, but just the way Penny _breathed_ could amaze him, it felt like. His friends had been asking him about her all day, but he refused to reveal anything, or let them close to her for too long—he was suddenly more aware how crudely his friends spoke, and didn't need them upsetting Penny with ugly suggestions or comments.

"Mmm, it is getting kind of late, huh?" Alex leaned in more and started dragging his lips against her hairline. Penny shivered, and whined softly when he started rubbing her side. He nudged the side of her head that was against the towel, and managed to kiss his way far enough that he had some leverage to roll her onto her back. Penny could only gasp as he started to kiss at her neck again. Her hands quickly found their way to his chest, and she pushed and squeezed up to his shoulders anxiously. She had never thought kissing on the neck could be as electric as all of those romance novels described, but the feeling of his breath on her skin made her whole body shiver.

Alex started to crawl on top of her, and Penny felt her nerves hike up another notch. He continued kissing her neck, collar, and ears, mumbling compliments and rumbling hums in his throat. He pressed his body down on hers, and Penny's breath caught in her throat. Everything felt unbearably good, but her mind was racing at the unknown—his intentions, how far he was planning to go, how she was supposed to respond; it was all too much. As Alex brought his head up and laid a kiss close to her mouth, Penny managed to gasp in a breath, and the air seemed to only inflate the anxiety in her.

"S-stop! _Stop—!_ " Penny's voice was panicked, and her movements turned more frantic. Alex blinked in surprise and lifted himself up on his elbows enough to look at her. She was breathing hard, like she couldn't get enough air in, and refused to look at him.

"Penny, what's the matter?" Alex was a little out of breath himself, and Penny felt her heart squeeze in disappointment for once again ruining a moment out of fear. She couldn't understand why she always seemed to react to physical affection with such irrational panic, and she felt ashamed of herself from Alex's concerned tone. It was his _birthday_ , and he was being romantic and loving with her, and she had to go and act like a prudish, whiny little child. She looked down shamefully.

"…I want to go home." She spoke quickly, and Alex was suddenly panicked too. He didn't want her to leave, and frantically tried to figure out what he had done wrong.

"Wh—don't, don't go home yet, uh…" He tried to think, but Penny only seemed to get more upset the longer he stayed on top of her. She whined and gave him a hard enough push to roll him off of her, then grabbed her shoes and hurried to the bridge. Alex watched her go, now more worried than ever, and quickly got up to follow her. He yanked the umbrella from the ground, and haphazardly grabbed the rest of her things before chasing after her.

"Penny!" He called out to her, she felt her heart sink more. She had barely hopped into her shoes, but now couldn't bring herself to keep running from him. She was just going to have to face him after being horribly awkward, _again_. Alex stopped fast behind her and waited a second, in case she wanted to speak first. Penny knew he was behind her, and felt a familiar sense of self-doubt, and self-loathing, bubble up in her stomach. He could be enjoying the company of his friends, or with any of the many girls here that would love every second he spent touching them, and instead he devoted the entire day to her, only to have her run off—and for what? Because she was so nervous she couldn't breathe? It was pathetic.

"…Penny." Alex spoke less urgently this time, and stepped up behind her. He managed to pile everything onto one arm, and used his free arm to touch her shoulder gently. "Penny, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you or…"

He wasn't completely sure _what_ it was exactly that he had done, but was confident at least that it _was_ something he had done. Penny wilted a little and frowned at the ground in guilt. She turned around slowly and sadly bonked her head on his collar.

"It's not… you, Alex." She mumbled, and burrowed further into his chest when his arm wrapped around her. "I'm sorry…"

Alex frowned and rubbed her back, and Penny continued.

"I just… I get so nervous." She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on being brave. "I don't know why, but I don't want you to think that I don't want to... kiss you… or… be with you like this—I just haven't ever kissed anyone before, and I'm not…"

The rest of her explanation was lost as Alex's mind almost imploded at the revelation; she had _never_ kissed anyone. He felt like such a doofus for assuming she must have kissed someone, and for trying to casually get her to kiss him all day. Of _course_ she always ducked away from him kissing her mouth—it's her first kiss ever! He felt a new level of excitement build in him, and he planted a rough kiss on her cheek. Penny gasped softly in surprise and looked up to him, only to see his eyes glittering back at her.

"Baby, don't even worry about it." He grinned and kissed her head. "Thanks for coming, I had a lot of fun hanging out today."

Penny blinked in disbelief that he wasn't even the least bit upset at her for running off for what she thought was a totally ridiculous reason. She waited a moment, then smiled at him lovingly. She stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek.

"…thank you for having me." She smiled and chuckled softly. "Happy Birthday."

Alex grinned wide and nuzzled all over her head, making her laugh more fully. He offered to walk her home, but Penny insisted he go back and enjoy the late hours of his birthday party. She took her towel, book, and juice, and Alex promised to drop the umbrella off at Maru's the following morning. Penny thanked him, and in a second-guessing bit of bravery, and perhaps a bit of lust, craned her head up and kissed along his neck. She turned and hurried home before she could see his expression, leaving a trail of giddy giggles and a shocked Alex behind her.

* * *

 **AN:** HOOOO BOY! This was the most sexual-tensiony chapter yet. ("I Feel It Coming" by the Weeknd plays)

I had a lot of fun with this one! It's kind of filler-y, but you gotta have those relationship/character building chapters, right? I didn't mention her, but of course Haley was there! I was going to add a little bit about her, but this chapter stretched out way longer than originally planned.

Oh! And I had Maru say "God" not Yoba in this chapter. For whatever reason, I've seen both her and Haley say 'god' in passing (ie: Oh my god!), so I figured at least _they_ should say it, if just to stay in character.

The drama is coming next chapter, so be warned! :)

 _UdonBullets_ , thanks buddy! ;v; I'm glad you're enjoying the chapters! Alex's emotional vulnerability is definitely coming up again in a few chapters… the suspense.

 _Guest_ , Thanks so much! ;o; I was surprised myself writing this fic how naturally some of the Heart Events meshed with each other.

 _Vanessa_ , aaaaa, I'm so glad to hear that! I think Penny is very relatable for a lot of people, and writing her self-confidence blossoming has been wonderful. I'm happy you've enjoyed the story so far!

 _AoiKuroNekoSan_ , aw thank you! I'm flattered qwq


	13. Family Values

The weeks following the beach party were blissful, and Alex had become a man obsessed. He used to spend any free time he had training or daydreaming about his future in professional gridball—now it seemed like from the moment he woke up to the second before he fell asleep he was thinking of Penny. Their tutoring sessions had become so relaxed that he could hardly remember how structured they used to be. They would talk casually about character motives and relationships, and he had even convinced her to give him spelling quizzes while he did pushups with her laying on his back. And even though she was still nervous about his grandparents catching them, she was growing more comfortable with his kisses by the day. He did his best to give her 'breathing room', but the last time he had necked on her, she let him get a knee between her legs, and he _still_ couldn't stop thinking about it.

She had told him that today she was taking the children up to the playground for a few hours, and though he tried to be patient, he couldn't bear the wait any longer. So he headed up the hill to the park with the early afternoon sun keeping his mood upbeat. As he walked past the community center, he finally caught sight of Penny. She was sitting on a bench by the swing set and watching Vincent and Jas throwing a small gridball back and forth. He was happy to see them playing his favorite sport, and trotted over enthusiastically.

"Hey! You guys playing gridball?" He stopped and leaned over a little with an interested grin. Vincent and Jas looked up to him in surprise, but were more familiar with him from his and Penny's frequent visits around them throughout the summer, so they smiled up at him excitedly.

"Yeah!" Vincent held out the ball to show it to him. "I'm real good at throwing it. Miss Penny gave me an 'A' on my last report card for 'Sports'!"

Alex smiled approving and nodded before peeking over at Penny. She was watching him with a curious smile, and he grinned more. She really seemed to like it when he was nice to these kids.

"Is that so?" Alex raised an eyebrow playfully. "Let me see then, slugger."

He stepped back a ways and set his arms into a catching position. Vincent enthusiastically stepped back too, and heaved the gridball at Alex with all his might. Alex caught it expertly and laughed while he juggled it back and forth in his palms.

"Not bad! You've got a lot of energy behind it, but you let go of the ball a little too late. You could be getting a lot more distance." He offered, then stepped back to lob it back to him. The ball arched perfectly, and landed in Vincent's arms with little effort on his part. Vincent chattered excitedly about how cool 'Mister Alex' was being until Jas pushed at Vincent's arm and demanded he give her a turn. When Vincent relented, Alex readied himself for what he assumed would be a very gentle toss, but was instead hit hard in the chest with the point of the ball. He coughed a second, then laughed at the unexpected strength behind her throw.

"Wow!" He straightened up and complimented Jas on her strength 'for a girl'.

"For a girl?" Penny asked, smiling knowingly. Alex jumped, having not noticed her until just then, and quickly smiled and nodded a few times.

"—for a _little_ girl! For a, uh, a _young_ girl!" He smiled widened nervously and Penny snorted with a bemused grin. He had made quite a few misogynistic comments throughout the reading of a book with a heroine protagonist, and Penny had gotten grumpy enough at him to loudly call him out on his misguided sexism. Alex waited a beat, then breathed out in relief when Penny started talking to the children, apparently letting the comment slide.

"Mister Alex!" Jas hopped up at him excitedly. "How hard can you throw it? Miss Penny told us that you're an amazing gridball player!"

Penny blinked in embarrassment and turned her face away, holding her cheek.

"I did not say that…" She murmured with a small smile. Alex beamed and squeezed the ball with both hands.

"Oh _did_ she?" Alex leaned into Penny, and she shouldered him away with a giggle. He ignored her soft 'no', and stepped back a few feet to give himself some space. The kids and Penny watched expectantly while he wriggled his shoulders and got his footing. After a moment, he took a calculated step forward, followed his arm through with the motion, and threw the ball at a perfect upwards angle. The ball left his hand with such force that it made an audible sound as it cut through the air, and continued its corkscrew spin completely past the community center. Penny and the children blinked in shock while Alex smiled proudly and stood up properly again. He looked back at them, and Vincent spoke first.

"That was awesome!" He cheered. "Will you teach me how to do that, Mister Alex?"

Alex laughed and told him that the first one to bring the ball back he would teach personally. Jas and Vincent jolted at the challenge, and quickly took off, racing each other to where the ball lay. Alex watched them go, then turned his attention to Penny.

" _Hey_ …" His voice dragged out casually while he took her hips and drew her in closer. Penny giggled again, and nuzzled him before pushing him away.

" _Stop it_ , the children might see…" She mumbled through a smile while he continued to try and hold her.

"Hm?" Alex hummed and kissed at her before relenting and stepping back. "You're such a tease."

"I am _not_. The less people that know about… 'us', the better." Penny hummed and grunted when Alex kissed her cheek defiantly. "You know my mother is constantly badgering me about her suspicions, right?"

Alex smiled down at her and played with her hands absentmindedly.

"I kno~ow… but I missed you." He tried to step forward and kiss at her forehead, but Penny pushed him away with a laugh.

"You saw me last night!" She pointed out, and only laughed more when Alex sighed 'I know' again, as if the night was such a long time ago.

"Do you want to stay for dinner again tonight?" He offered, looking at her dreamily. Penny looked up at him and sighed. She could hear the children's laughter getting closer, and pulled her hands away from his slowly.

"That sounds nice." She smiled, then turned toward Jas and Vincent as they ran up to them again.

" _Vincent's a cheater!_ " Jas screamed unhappily, pointing at him accusingly. "He _pushed_ me!"

Penny blinked in surprise before frowning angrily.

" _Vincent!_ " She raised her voice to scold him, and Alex looked at her with surprised curiosity. He couldn't help but enjoy it whenever she got commanding.

"I didn't mean to!" Vincent replied in defense, hugging the ball to his chest. "I was just trying to get the ball from her!"

Jas ran to Penny's side and pouted at him, but her and Penny's upset was interrupted by Alex laughing. He knelt down to Vincent and shook his head fondly.

"You shouldn't be rough with girls." He told him, then took the Vincent's arm and raised it to a flexing position. "Not with guns like these!"

Alex flexed back at him, and his jacket tightened around his arm where his muscles protruded. Vincent blinked in amazement, then looked back to him with a smile.

"Wow! You're so strong Mister Alex, maybe even more than my big brother Sam!" He remarked excitedly. "He's so strong, I once saw him pick Miss Penny right up and lift her into a tree!"

Alex blinked at the comment, and Penny's face turned red in mortification.

" _Vincent!_ It's not polite to spread rumors like that!" She huffed, and Alex looked up to her in surprise, now assuming the story was true. Penny looked at him nervously, then sighed, unable to stay upset with the children for long. "Ah, well, that's enough playing with Mister Alex. Why don't you two go play on the jungle gym?"

Vincent wanted to argue that Alex had promised to teach him how to throw the gridball like he did, but didn't want to make Penny any more upset with him, so he and Jas bounded off for the playground, even though Jas was still accusing him of cheating. Penny rubbed her face in exasperation, and sighed as Alex stood up next to her.

"…he was showing me a bird's nest." She offered in embarrassment, still rubbing her eyes. Alex quirked an eyebrow and watched her with a pout.

All of these years he had hardly paid any attention to Penny, but looking back, the only boy he ever saw her around was Sam. He couldn't help but wonder if there was more than what both of them said had gone on between them, but supposed that it also didn't matter, since Sam was married and all. But he couldn't fight feeling a little jealous and suspicious, since Penny had told him that she had never kissed anyone before, and she was always so hesitant with him. Maybe Sam had done something to make her act so shut off; even the thought made his blood boil, and he was already plotting revenge when Penny spoke again.

"It's kind of funny… I never really thought much about having a relationship with Sam, but he was always very kind to me. I guess…" She peeked at him shyly then looked away. "…well, I kissed him on the cheek once. But I hope you don't think that anything more happened…"

Alex watched her shy demeanor and felt his aggression puff away like dust. He hugged her from behind and gave her a squeeze. He kissed her ear with a smile.

" _Promise?_ " He purred teasingly, and Penny had to muffle her laugh.

"Of course!" She whispered, then turned around in his arms and hugged him tight around the neck. "Even if I had wanted to, I've never been brave enough to get this close to _anyone_ before you…"

Alex felt his cheeks start to warm, and he tried to kiss at her. Penny was able to duck away and start walking towards the playground, even when Alex swiped at her a few times in an attempt to get her back into his arms.

He settled for sitting with her on a bench and watching Vincent and Jas play, and they spoke comfortably about some plans for the upcoming week. During a lull in the conversation, Penny focused her attention onto Vincent and Jas playing a moment before smiling and sighing contently.

"…have you ever thought about having children?" She asked softly and peeked at him. Alex was a little surprised by the question, but looked off and gave it some thought.

"Well, sure I guess." He leaned against the bench and adjusted his shoulders. "I think I'd want a lot of boys, so we could all play gridball together."

Penny watched his smile and felt her cheeks start to blush. She should have assumed he'd want sons, it was a stereotypical answer, even, but the idea of him roughhousing with a rowdy bunch of _their_ sons made her heart melt.

"…that's good." She looked away with a bashful smile. "I've always wanted a big family, myself…"

Alex grinned more and scooted closer.

"You'd be a great mom." He hummed against her ear, and Penny had to giggle and scoot away. If just to get away from his teasing, she called the kids over and told them it was time to started walking home.

When they made their way back into town, Penny asked Alex to watch the children while she used the restroom at the general store. He agreed, and bummed around the market while Jas and Vincent ducked back and forth between the aisles. Alex realized halfway through reading the protein content of a field snack that he wasn't actually _watching_ the kids, and hurried to find them. He peeked around the corner of the dry food aisle, unnoticed by either of them.

"—you _can't_ marry Miss Penny when you're old, because she's in love with Mister Alex." Jas huffed, and crossed her arms. Vincent seemed upset by that and started to argue with her.

"She is not!" He whisper-yelled at her, and Alex cracked a smile, feeling the last lingering paranoia he had about her and Sam slipping away. He listened to them bicker more about if Penny was going to marry him or not, then leaned his back against the wall of the shelf, deciding to stay out of sight and daydream a little. Penny came back just as he was thinking of where he'd take her on their honeymoon, and was confused by the dopey, lovestruck smile he was giving her.

* * *

Penny had offered to help with dinner, but Evelyn refused to let her when Alex was 'perfectly capable' of setting the table himself, so instead she was looking over several pictures of Alex that hung in one big cluster on a wall in the TV room. She tried to avoid being around George as much as possible after the incident with the mailbox, but he seemed to be warming up to her over the summer. He was also conveniently engrossed in the news channel, and barely noticed Penny on the opposite side of the room.

She smiled while she looked over the framed photos, regarding each phase of Alex's life with adoration. There were pictures of him as a toddler, and one of him as a child posing in his baseball uniform with his bat slung over his shoulder, and with wide, cheerful grin that was missing a few teeth plastered on his face. The largest photo was of him in his varsity gridball uniform, resting on one knee on the gridball field with his helmet tucked under his arm. He looked so handsome, and especially rugged with those black lines painted below his eyes. She wished so badly in that moment that she had been able to go to high school with him instead of having to homeschool herself. Even if she would have been a year ahead of him, and even though he would have completely ignored her, seeing him every day seemed like it would have been worth it to her now.

She noticed a picture of him as a small child sitting in a lovely young woman's lap, and turned her attention to it. The woman had hair the same pretty shade of brown as his, but her skin was a little more olive toned, and Penny realized that this must be his mother. She frowned sadly, remembering back to when he had moved to town when she was a little girl and her own mother had told her that his mother had passed away. Pam had said it was a horrible shame, and Penny remembered feeling so sorry for that little boy, even if she was too shy to try and cheer him up in any way. Who would have ever known that that little boy would grow up to steal her heart away? Her cheeks tinged pink at the thought, and she readily returned to the kitchen when Evelyn called for her.

Alex enthusiastically pulled out the chair that had become her designated spot next to him, and flashed her a smile. Penny smiled back and thanked him quietly while Evelyn brought over the rest of the serving plates. The first time she had joined them for dinner, Penny felt completely enamored with how wholesome it all felt; everyone eating one meal together, talking about their day and making plans, just like on television. She wished desperately that her own mother would have a similar tradition with her, but she didn't like any of the 'healthy' food Penny made, and normally just ate frozen TV dinners late at night.

The dinner was just meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but the humbleness of it made it all the more charming to Penny. She smiled sweetly at Alex all dinner long while he rambled on about how their lessons were going, and trying to explain the plot of the book they were currently reading. George even grumbled a few responses to it, having been the one to have read it decades prior. Evelyn seemed so pleased by Alex's enthusiasm about books, and it made Penny feel even better. Alex and his family were a delightful distraction from her own home life, which was still noticeably nastier from her mother being convinced that she was sleeping with him. She was already dreading going home.

* * *

"Do you think he's gunna die? I mean really?" Alex asked Penny while he walked her home. Penny was happy to see him so engrossed with the current novel, but could hardly focus on the conversation, and barely offered him a weak smile.

"Oh um, I don't know…" She mumbled absentmindedly, and Alex immediately knew something was wrong. He stopped them at the corner of the trailer and turned her to face him. She groaned at the demanding look in his eyes before he even spoke, and pushed herself up against his chest.

" _Please_ , Alex." Penny whined, knowing herself that Alex already knew what was bothering her.

"What did she do?" Alex frowned, hugging her protectively. The fact that this cycle of Penny being upset had become like clockwork irritated him even more. She would be happy, go home, and then be sad again; it was driving him up a wall.

"You _know_ , Alex." Penny sighed and hugged him back. "She's just meaner some nights more than others…"

" _Why_ do you even put up with it?" He sneered more. "I'd leave."

"I _can't_ just leave." She huffed unhappily, and felt Alex's grip tighten around her.

"Why not!?" He whispered down at her angrily. "Penny, you don't need your shitty mom."

"Alex!" Penny looked up to him, upset by his foul language. Alex groaned, knowing she hated curse words, but was unable to hold back his distaste for her mom tonight.

"I'm serious! You don't need her. She's a mean, drunk, old bitc—" Alex couldn't finish his string of insults before Penny piped up again, angrier now.

" _Alex_ , don't speak you about my mother like that!" She frowned at him and pulled away from his hug. Alex hesitated before leaning down and arguing with her further.

"Why are you _defending_ her!? It's been _months_ of this, Penny!" He threw his arm out and gestured angrily.

"I'm _aware_ of that, Alex. I _live_ with her." Penny crossed her arms. "I still don't want you talking about her like that! She's my _mother_ , whether you like it or not."

" _So!?_ " Alex's breathing was getting more labored the angrier he got. He couldn't think of any good reason why Penny would or should defend Pam; she was a drunk, abusive, mean-spirited person, just like his dad. The memory of his father only burned him up more.

"You think that's an okay way to act? Because they're 'family' they don't deserved to be criticized for being pieces of _shit?_ " Alex growled, and Penny's eyes widened in shocked anger. "You think—"

"Alex, that is _enough!_ " She raised her voice loud enough that anyone nearby would be able to hear them, and Alex felt an unusual sense of fear from it. "Alex, what I _think_ is that you need to stop projecting your hatred for _your_ father onto _my_ mother."

Her voice was angrier and more dangerously serious than Alex had ever heard it, and he swallowed nervously, even though he continued to stare at her defiantly. Penny pursed her lips, and frowned more when he didn't cave and apologize. Her nose curled a little as she tried to keep herself from saying anything more venomous, and she forced herself to turn from him to continue walking home. Alex stared after her, shocked to see her leaving, and followed her quickly.

"Penny!" He kept his voice low, hoping she'd talk to him if he continued to keep the argument private. Penny looked back at him with a glare and closed her eyes before turned back to the door.

"Good _night_ , Alex." She bit out before entering the trailer and slamming the door behind her.

Alex stared at the door in disbelief, then frowned in hurt and anger. He was trying to protect her, and she wanted to choose her horrible mom over him? He huffed angrily and shoved his hands into his pockets hard before trudging back home. He tried to convince himself that if _that's_ how she was going to be about it, maybe she _deserved_ for her mom to come home tonight and scream at her. Evelyn barely got a glimpse of him when he stormed into the house and back to his room.

Alex threw off his jacket and landed on his bed in with an unhappy thud. He tried to stay angry with Penny, but his rage was already fading to sadness. He wanted to believe that if you weren't going to leave your bad situation, than you got what was coming to you, but he couldn't.

His _mother_ had stayed.

His eyebrows unfurrowed, and bent up miserably at the memory of her. No matter how horrible his dad was, she would always let him stay. They would fight constantly, especially about how his dad spoke to him, but in the end she never seemed to have it in her to kick him out for more than a few days. It was as mindboggling then as it was now. Alex laid in bed trying to calm his breathing, and eventually managed to scrape himself out of bed with a sigh.

He switched the light off and went to his dresser. In the bottom drawer, beneath a pile of clothes that he never wore, was her old music box. Alex frowned sadly when he picked it up, carefully cradling it in his palms before retreating back to his bed.

When he was younger, he would always want to open the box and listen to the music play, and his mother would scold him and caution him that if he played with it too much it might break. He traced his thumb over the corner of the lid and felt the same fear he had for years; that one day he would open it and it wouldn't play, just like his mother had warned him. After another moment of hesitation, he lifted the lid enough to start the mechanism, and the familiar melody chimed to life. He could only listen to it for a few seconds before his eyes started to water, and he had to close it again.

He laid in bed, holding the music box securely to his chest, and let a few tears drip past his temples and into his hair. He had been asking himself for years and years why she had stayed with his dad, and now Penny was doing the same thing. He couldn't understand it, because to him, the choice had been easy. When George and Evelyn took him away, he never missed his father, not even for a second. Why couldn't Penny do that too? Was she just so desperate for that family model that she would put up with nearly anything just to keep that dream alive?

His eyes widened a little, then saddened at the thought.

"Oh, _Penny_ …" Alex sighed mournfully, and hid the box away on the other side of his bed.

* * *

 **AN:** What a horrible, angsty turn of events! 8( This was so sad to write… their first fight.

The "mailbox" incident is actually Penny's 2 Heart event, if that went by anyone. For this chapter, I decided to do a spin on Penny's 8 Heart event with the fieldtrip, and had Alex playing ball with them instead. =w= (I swear I didn't make the 'lifted her into a tree' thing up though... Vincent had me cracking up gdi)

And if you've romanced/befriended Alex, I bet you know what horrible angst is coming next! D:

 _sluggy94,_ Thank you so much omg! I'm really flattered ;v;

 _autumnsayshey,_ I'm glad to have brightened your day! And I promise the next chapter won't end so sadly 0':

 _Guest,_ I agree wholeheartedly! Communication if very important for couples, especially beginning ones, and I think one of the secondary themes in this story is teaching Alex how to express himself better :'3 Thank you!

 _Animonium,_ ahh I appreciate all these nice comments so much! ;~; Thank you! I hope the update doesn't make you too heartbroken!


	14. Mourning

The first thought Penny had when she woke up that morning was a rather lovely one about Alex, but her dreamy fog was quickly wicked away when reality set in. She laid in bed and stared at the ceiling with worry, remembering their fight the night before. After she had gone inside, she had tried her best to go to bed, but guilt had already started to choke her before she could fall asleep. She was right, of course, he absolutely should not speak about her mother like that, but she still felt awful for yelling at him. Alex was so protective of her, she knew he was only trying to do what he thought would keep her safe. She sighed sadly, and decided to go visit him before he headed to work for the day, hoping that he wasn't still angry with her.

So she did her hair and made a quick breakfast, then hurried over to Alex's house with the morning still early. When she arrived at his house, however, Evelyn informed her that he hasn't home.

"I'm sorry dear, you just missed him!" Evelyn frowned. "He said he was going down to the beach."

Penny tried not to look too worried and nodded thankfully to her.

"Thank you, Granny." She smiled more fully and started her trek through town and to the shore. Alex loved the beach, and she assumed maybe he was going there to clear his head or relax. She tried to even her breath out and not worry, but her mind kept trying to play worst-case scenarios. Possibilities of Alex wanting to continue the spat, or maybe just end their relationship all together, continued to pick at the back of her mind while she crossed the bridge that lead to the ocean.

When the road began to turn sandy, Penny started looking around for Alex. She couldn't see him at first, but as she crossed over the top of a dune, the rest of the shore opened up to view and she could see his figure sitting near the water. He had his back to her, and Penny was almost thankful for that. He didn't look horribly tense, which relaxed her nerves a bit, and she started to try and plan on what to say when she reached him. The soft sound of the waves and distant gulls continued to ease her nerves, until a new abrupt sound caught her attention. She stopped only a few steps behind Alex and listened, and recognized what she was hearing as a soft sniffling. She realized that it was coming from Alex, and her heart jumped into her throat in horrified guilt that she was likely the reason he was crying. Penny dropped to his side hastily and touched his arm.

" _Alex?_ " She asked with urgent worry in her eyes, and Alex whipped his head toward her in shock. Penny's heart sunk when she saw the lines of tears staining his cheeks. Alex's surprise turned to shame as she cupped his face, and he lowered his head pitifully. He didn't like crying, and definitely never wanted Penny of all people to see him in tears.

"Oh Alex…" Penny sighed mournfully and wiped his cheeks with her thumbs. She pulled his head closer and nuzzled his face, her own eyes starting to burn with tears too. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Her voice waned, and she looked up to Alex expectantly when he pulled his face away. She watched him rub at his eyes, and folded her hands in her lap meekly, as though she had no right to speak until he did.

"It's not about that, Penny…" He kept his voice low in an attempt to keep it from cracking. "And you don't need to be sorry for yesterday… _I'm_ sorry."

Alex looked down past his shoes sadly, then closed his eyes with a heavy sigh.

"I know that… that your mom, she's _not_ like my dad. She can be awful to you, but—but you're _right_. She's your mom, and even though life's been tough on you guys, she worked and did her best to take care of you… even if her best is…" Alex's voice trailed off, unable to bring himself to insult her.

Penny sniffed to keep tears from welling up in her eyes further, and she gently wiped her eyes with the back of her index knuckle. She had wanted him to say all of these things to her the day before, but now hearing them just made her feel weepy. She hesitated a second before scooting closer and holding his forearm comfortingly. Alex could barely bring himself to look at her.

"…I'm sorry I got so mad. I guess it's just bad timing… I always end up thinking about my dad around this time of year." He mumbled and rubbed his thumbs over the music box in his lap. Penny had barely noticed it when Alex spoke again. "…twelve years ago today, my mom died."

He sounded so hollow, but his words tore through Penny. She felt guiltier than ever before for yelling at him, and hugged his arm tight.

"Oh, Alex…!" She looked up to him with renewed tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's not your fault." Alex pointed out, staring past the dock at the horizon. Penny frowned sadly and rubbed her head against his shoulder.

"It doesn't need to be my 'fault'…" She sniffed softly, and Alex relented with a sigh. She had written a lesson explaining 'sympathy' and 'empathy' for him months ago.

"…I know, Penny." He answered finally, then waited a minute to speak again. "…Grandma doesn't know that I remember the date. At least, I don't think she does."

Penny looked up at him, then followed his gaze down to the music box again.

"I come down to the beach every year to… _mourn_ , I guess." Alex frowned more. "She would always take me down here when we'd visit grandma and grandpa…"

He thumbed at the music box again, and Penny realized sadly why he loved the beach so much. She nuzzled against his shoulder slowly, unsure of what else she could do to comfort him. Alex sighed again; there were so many words inside him that needed to come out, it felt like they were going to start pouring from his mouth with each breath.

"…I always think about, 'what if', you know? All of the 'what if's." He looked to Penny briefly before returning his focus to the sea. "I was so little when all of it was happening, I couldn't do _shit_ for her."

His voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat in hopes it would straighten it out again.

"I was just a stupid _kid_. I couldn't do anything to stop my dad, I couldn't make any money to help out—nothing." He sniffed angrily and tried to adjust himself into a more comfortably hunch. "I always think about if I had been older, like if it was still happening, how I would beat the hell out of him. How he wouldn't get away with talkin' to me and mom like that—I'd beat him up so bad he'd never come back."

Penny frowned at the idea of him being so violent, but decided to let him vent his anger without interruption. Alex sighed again, this time hard enough to shake him a bit.

"…it just _sucks_ , y'know?" His voice wavered and new tears dripped down his cheeks. Penny felt her heart swell with sorrow, and she moved an arm across his stomach to hug him closer. Alex set his cheek on the top of her head and tried his best to stop sniveling. He took in slow breaths, hoping to steady his breathing again, and tried to gather his thoughts more. After another moment, he sniffed in an attempt to clear his nose, and pulled away from Penny. She watched him rub off his eyes with the back of his jacket sleeve, and leaned in closer when he moved his hand down to hold her forearm.

"I'm sorry, Penny." His voice whined slightly despite his best efforts. "And… and I'm sorry if I'm doing that 'projecting' thing again, but… but I see _so much_ of her in you."

Penny looked up to him in surprise, and Alex raised his hand to thumb away a tear caught in her eyelashes.

"I was thinking all night about… about why she stayed with my dad, and why _you_ stay with your mom." He murmured down to her, sniffing as he went. "All I could think is… she just wanted something _normal_ for me, something stable. And she tried so, _so_ hard to get my dad to stop being a drunk asshole and have us all be a little family."

He hesitated a minute before continuing.

"…she was so young, and strong, and tired—and she tried _so hard_ , Penny." He frowned miserably at her. "And you're the same way—and you deserve better, just like she did."

Penny stared up at him with a strange feeling swirling in her stomach. She always felt nauseated when people tried to talk about her home life, but Alex's revelation was taking her breath away. Alex cupped her cheek sadly, and brought her back from her thoughts.

"I couldn't protect my mom at all, but, I can protect _you_ …" Tears fell from his eyes freely, and rolled down past his chin. "I'm sorry for making you mad, I won't do that anymore… I just wanna help however you want me to…"

His voice was strained and soft, and shook more the longer he spoke. Penny stared up at him with her own lip trembling, and tears streaking down her cheeks. Her heart and mind were racing from the sincerity of his words, and from what she considered as a pure, heartfelt reason behind his need to protect her. No one had ever acknowledged her struggles or openly appreciated her efforts the way Alex did. She sniffed a final time, unable to find any words that could tell him how she was feeling, and moved before she could even consider what she was doing. Her hands found their way to either side of his jaw, and she pulled his face down closer to hers, and into a desperate, thankful kiss.

Alex's eyes widened at the sudden feeling of her lips on his, and he didn't even have the chance to react until she was already pulling away. Penny stared up at him, still sniffing and teary, and suddenly aware of how carelessly she had just acted. Before she could worry if her impulsiveness was a mistake, Alex gently moved the music box from his lap to the sand beside him, and kissed her again. His arms wrapped behind her head and back, and his weight suddenly had them falling to the ground. Penny barely had time to respond before her back was against the sand, but she managed to quickly moved her hands back up to his jaw, rubbing and gripping between it and his neck while he kissed her.

Penny couldn't have imagined how wonderful kissing him would feel. She couldn't even be bothered to care that her hair would surely have sand stuck in it for the rest of the day, and instead relished in the feeling of his hand groping and cradling the back of her head, and his lips moving so naturally against hers. The kisses were frantic and impassioned, and both felt their previously tense, breathless sorrow lifting away with each breath they took between kisses. Once Alex felt like he could take in a full breath, he pulled away just enough to look down at her, and realized in surprise that they were both actually breathing heavily. Penny looked up to his confused, tearstained face, and laughed softly. She brought a hand up to cup his cheek again, and wiped away a lingering tear line with her thumb.

"My first kiss, and we're both crying." She commented with an amused smile, and continued looking up to him adoringly. Alex's heart fluttered and he leaned down to kiss her again. This one was long and slow, and both felt chills when the other hummed in response. Alex managed to pull himself away and kiss her forehead a few times.

"Did the crying ruin it?" He mumbled against her skin, and smiled when Penny giggled softly in reply.

"No, not at all." She sighed contently and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

They moved into a comfortable resting position, with Penny sitting between Alex's legs and resting her back against his chest. She held the music box in her lap as carefully as she could, and watched the waves with tired contentment while Alex kissed at the side of her head. The longer his idle kissing continued, the funnier Penny thought it was. She assumed he would get bored after a few minutes, but he had been kissing around the side of her head for at least ten minutes now. She turned her head to the side and set a kiss on his mouth, savoring the electric feeling she got each time their lips touched. Alex watched her adoringly, and she couldn't keep eye contact without giggling. Instead she nuzzled against his neck, and hummed happily when Alex wrapped his arms around her more fully.

"…tell me about your mother?" Penny asked gently, and leaned her cheek against his while he rested his chin over her shoulder. He was silent a moment, then spoke quietly.

"Her name was Clara." Alex stared off to the ocean again, and Penny was thankful that his voice stayed calm. "She was a great mom."

He adjusted his arms around Penny, and sighed before speaking again.

"She taught me how to throw a gridball. We would play catch in the backyard all the time, and then she would always make salted radish sandwiches for lunch." Alex smiled at the memories, and leaned against her more.

"I've never had that, it sounds good though…" Penny commented softly, and Alex hummed in agreement.

"They were the _best_." He hesitated a moment. "You know, it's funny, because she learned to make them from my grandma… but when grandma makes them now, they just don't taste the same."

Penny rubbed his cheek with the side of her head, and felt some relief when Alex nuzzled her back.

"It _is_ sort of funny how sentiment can change the way food tastes, or music sounds, or whatever else, isn't it?" She held one of his hands, and let him squeeze it for comfort. "Love can make a lot of things sweeter, I think."

Alex raised his head to look at her, and smiled softly from the adoring look in her eyes. He gave her another kiss, then moved his hands down to hold the music box in her lap. Penny slipped her hands away, and let Alex hold it himself.

"…this is all I really have left of her." He murmured and started to open the lid. "It's her old music box."

He opened the lid fully, and the two watched the mechanism begin to chime inside. Penny sighed, knowing the melody was deeply tied to Alex's childhood, and rested her head against his collar. She closed her eyes and tried to take in the sentiment behind the music, while Alex watched the waves lapping at the shore. He felt a new sense of warmth from listening to the song with Penny in his arms, though it still brought bittersweet memories back to him. He closed the box gently, and Penny opened her eyes to look at him. Alex blushed at how sweet and tired she looked, and felt overwhelming gratitude from how kind she had been to him in his weakest moment. He kissed her again, enjoying the fact that he could now, and pressed the bridge of his nose to hers.

"Thank you for… being here with me." Alex murmured, and tried not to think about the decade he spent mourning alone. Penny smiled and pecked him quickly.

"Of course." She sighed happily. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Alex. Your mother must be so proud of you."

She rested her temple against his neck, and Alex smiled into her hair.

"You think so?" He mumbled contently, and Penny laughed almost breathlessly.

"How could she not be?" She closed her eyes again. "You're such a warm, compassionate, confident young man. And you would… take so much pity in a sad little 'trailer trash' girl."

Alex was immediately upset at the comment.

"Penny! Don't talk about yourself like that!" He leaned to look at her in the face, but Penny only laughed.

"Oh please, Alex… I know the stereotype." She laid against him more comfortably. "I'm sure anyone looking in would say that about me…"

Alex frowned unhappily, unsure if he or Haley had ever referred to her like that before. It sounded unfortunately like something he would say less than a year ago.

"…yeah, well, like 'stupid meathead' isn't a stereotype…" He mumbled, and Penny piped up in upset.

"Alex!" She looked at him defensively, and Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, so _you_ can say mean things about yourself, but _I_ —" He teased, but Penny wouldn't even let him finish.

"No!" She huffed, and snuggled up against him aggressively. "You know you're not 'stupid'…"

Alex smiled adoringly and cuddled her closer.

"I know, I know, baby…" He smiled and gave her a kiss on the head. "…because of _you_ , y'know."

Penny breathed out, then peeked at him again. The shine in his eyes made it hard to stay mad at him, and she relented enough to lean up and kiss his cheek.

"Good." She sighed, still agitated, and let him cuddle her. Alex continued to cradle her for a few minutes, enjoying the few moments he had left with her.

"…I've got to go to work." He complained unhappily, and Penny curled up closer in silent protest. She couldn't bring herself to tell him to miss work, but she desperately didn't want him to go. Alex hesitated, then leaned down to kiss her temple.

"You want me to come over afterwards?" He smiled, and grinned wider when Penny nodded against his collar.

Alex scooted back so he could stand up, then helped Penny up too. She handed him the music box carefully, and Alex took it with a soft smile.

"Hey, um…" He felt his cheeks start to blush. "Thanks for… for not making fun of me for crying."

Penny's eyebrows wrinkled in bewilderment. She held the side of his cheeks gently and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, feeling giddy from doing it so casually.

"Of _course_ I wouldn't make fun of you for that, Alex." She looked up at him, curious as to why he would think so.

"…well, I guess… some people think guys shouldn't cry…" He mumbled with a smile, blushing more. Penny smiled unsurely at the ridiculous idea and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Alex, no one has ever made me feel as safe as you do. I want you to feel safe with me too…" She hummed, then laughed when Alex quickly squeezed her to his chest. He wiggled her around, then took her hand and walked them up to the bride. Before they parted ways he pressed another kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you in a few…" He smiled, and Penny giggled up at him, unwilling to let go of his hand just yet.

They nuzzled noses, and Alex asked her to not tell anyone that he had been crying. Penny assured him that she would keep their meeting private, and was given a grateful kiss on the cheek in return. Alex waved back at her while he left for the ice cream stand, excited by the idea that he would get to kiss her a lot more that night.

* * *

 **AN:** YAY! WE DID IT KIDS! The angst has given way to raw emotions and kissies u3u

This chapter was Alex's 8 Heart Event, with added kissing because hell… it's time.

I'm excited to write the next few chapters, because we're talking major, major fluff here people :3 I cannot believe I'm approaching 50k words with 14 chapters in this sucker… I'm dyin squirtle.

(They're finally kissing! Yay!)

 _LillySteam44_ , no no thank you! I love getting reviews and I really appreciate you leaving one for each chapter! ;v;/ "Slow burn" romance… I haven't heard that in forever, but that's the perfect description for this! Love it, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to come!

 _sluggy94_ , Thank you! :D I hope you enjoyed the chapter… I didn't realize how sad Alex's 8 Heart was until I got it myself. ;-; The wiki page did it no justice.


	15. Commitment

Alex sighed dreamily with his chin resting in his palms, barely propped up by his elbows on the kitchen table. Evelyn had the radio set to an oldies station while she cleaned up breakfast, and the song playing reminded Alex of something Penny might like. It was an old doo wop song he'd heard countless times since moving in with his grandparents, but the lyrics of a simple, sweet romance held more meaning to him as of late. He'd always thought the music George and Evelyn listened to was corny and old-fashioned, but now all of the songs made him think of Penny. He hummed along while the singer tenderly asked if the person of his affection would give him one kiss, and rest their head on his shoulder, then sighed again, longer this time.

Evelyn noticed Alex's sighing and turn to look at him from the sink. She was going to suggest he go play outside, assuming he was sighing from boredom, but was surprised by the wide smile across his face, and the absent-minded, shiny look in his eyes. She gasped in hopeful delight, and waddled over to him quickly. She cupped his cheeks in her palms and lifted his head up to look at her.

"Alex, honey?" Evelyn grinned and watched him blink slowly at her. He replied with a content 'hmm?', and Evelyn's smile brightened even more. "Oh George, he's in _love!_ "

George responded with a confused, cantankerous 'huh?', and made his way back to the kitchen from the TV room. He watched his wife cooing and tilting Alex's head back and forth in admiration, and crinkled his mouth in thought. Alex laughed softly, still in daze, and gently shook his head out of his grandmother's hands.

"Stop it, Granny…" He mumbled happily and repositioned his right elbow on the table so he could lean his cheek into his own hand again. George shook his head.

"The boy's twitterpated." He commented, watching Alex stare off fondly at the wall. Evelyn clasped her hands in excitement.

"Oh baby, have you told her?" She prodded happily, assuming of course that his beloved was Penny. Alex blinked, suddenly startled from his stupor, and looked at his grandmother nervously.

"Er—well…" He pressed his lips out and looked away again. "…I was _gunna_."

Evelyn started prattling on excitedly about young love and her advice on the matter, and Alex felt like there was no better time to get out of the house than right then. He quickly slid out of his chair and snagged his duffle bag off of the kitchen tile before making a beeline for the front door. He hollered a quick goodbye to his grandparents as he slipped out of the door and shut it behind him, leaving a half-insulted Evelyn huffing in the kitchen.

As he stepped out into the street, he noticed some movement of red and blue to his right. He looked over and realized it was Emily stopping to literally smell the flowers on her way to Pierre's. Alex was immediately reminded of something he had been forgetting to do, and jogged over.

"Hey, Emily!" He stopped quick and smiled at her. Emily looked up curiously, then smiled her normal wide grin at him.

"Oh, hello Alex." She stood up, and Alex spoke again before she could continue her greeting.

"If you see Haley, could you tell her I'm busy?" He seemed almost excited about the request. "Thanks!"

Emily could only stare after him in confusion, then realized he was bounding off towards Penny's trailer and laughed knowingly. Hopefully her sister wouldn't be too bratty about the news.

Alex used to take extra care walking around his and Penny's shared yard, for fear that the trash and tall grass would scuff his shoes, but it was the fastest way to her trailer and Alex couldn't be bothered anymore to worry about his sneakers. He hopped through the patches of brush and kicked cans and bottles out of his way gleefully as he almost skipped the last stretch of the lawn, then landed on the dirt road the trailer called home. Alex unzipped his duffle bag that hung over his shoulder and carefully checked on the precious cargo inside. Finding it intact, he made his way to the front of the trailer and slid between the screen door before carefully turning the front door's handle and peeking in.

Penny was washing dishes and singing along softly to the radio, which conveniently muffled the sound of the door creaking. Alex grinned and shuffled the rest of the way into the house, clicking the door shut as quietly as he could. He realized while she sang that she had the radio set to the same station that his grandmother did, and had to stifle a laugh. The song playing now was sung by a trio of women, but the topic was once again about a hopeful romance.

"…need to hold you, once again my love—" Penny mumbled contently, and Alex couldn't help himself. He glided behind her and scooped her back into his awaiting arm.

"—feel your _wa~arm e-embrace_ , my love!" He finished the line enthusiastically. Penny squeaked in fear, then laughed upon realizing the arm she was leaning on belonged to Alex, and that he was serenading her. She giggled with him while he rolled her back up onto her feet, and laid a warm kiss on against his lips once she was upright again.

"Alex, you startled me!" She laughed and dried off her hands on a nearby kitchen towel. Alex only chuckled in reply, and hummed happily when she placed her hands on his shoulders and continued kissing him. After a few final pecks, Alex managed to pull himself away.

"I brought you something." He smiled lovingly at her, and Penny blinked in surprise before relaxing back into a soft smile.

"Oh Alex, you don't need to get me anything…" She sighed and watched him open up his duffle bag. It felt wrong, at least to her, to have him still paying for these 'reading lessons'—they were more like hanging out together with a book, anymore—and also bringing her gifts. She could just be using the tutoring money to buy these things herself!

"Of course I do, baby girl." Alex's eyes glittered at her, and Penny had to cover her giggle with her hand.

Despite his smile, Alex felt his heart beating like mad from nervousness. He had spent the entire night before trying to convince himself that having a 'real' girlfriend was no big deal, but it certainly was! He'd never asked out anyone he was so enamored with before, and his usual confidence was riddled with pockets of doubt. When he didn't think he could stall a second longer, he pulled a large bouquet from the duffle bag and offered it to Penny almost shyly. Penny's eyes widened in surprise, and even when she looked up to him, he could tell there was a hint of hesitation in believing that this bouquet was as symbolic as it was.

"I um…" Alex felt his cheeks blushing and hoped he didn't look too lame. He already felt embarrassed enough from Pierre trying to pry who the flowers were for out of him yesterday. "I know you still wanna keep things quiet 'cause of your mom and all but… I thought we could make it 'official' still… maybe."

Penny had placed her hands over his fingers on the bouquet while he spoke, and was looking up at him tenderly now. She looked down, embarrassed too, then carefully held the flowers to her chest.

"Oh, _darling_ …" She raised her head and Alex felt a few bubbles of doubt pop in hopeful anticipation. Penny leaned up and kissed him again, more passionately this time. Alex shivered from the unusual force behind her kiss, and dropped his bag to the floor. He pulled her closer, careful to not crush the bouquet between them, and kissed her back with matching need. Penny sighed as she pulled away, and looked up at him adoringly.

"I'm so _excited_." She breathed, and rested her head against his collar. Alex rubbed her back and smiled into her hair, but couldn't help wanting 100% confirmation.

"So… is that a 'yes'?" He grinned at her, and Penny laughed with a bashful blush.

"Of course!" She raised her shoulders excitedly, and Alex beamed. He scooped her up into his arms bridal style with a playful bounce, making Penny squeal happily and laugh his name while he shimmied them around the refrigerator and through the small doorway to her bedroom. Alex spun her around when there was enough room to, then tossed her on the bed with a calculated arch. Penny bounced once on her mattress and curled up with a laugh. This wasn't the first time he'd thrown her onto a bed, and she hoped her arms and legs would give her some protection from his oncoming barrage of kisses and tickling. Alex was immediately on top of her, and kissed her a few times between giggles.

"Alex—the blinds, please?" Penny managed through kisses, and bumped him with her nose humbly. Alex snickered, but complied, and scampered over to close the curtains of the two small windows inside her room. She had asked him time and time again to do that out of paranoia of her mother, or someone that might tell her mother, seeing them intertwined with each other, but he'd always need to be reminded; the excitement of kissing her made it difficult to think of anything else. When he turned back from the window in front of her desk, he saw Penny sitting on the edge of her mattress and leaning over to set the bouquet safely on the side table of the adjacent wall. He grinned almost predatorily, and rushed her, bowling her backwards onto the bed again with a theatrical villainous cackle.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Alex smirked and kissed her face and neck wildly. Penny laughed and kicked her legs out from under his side, unable to do anything else to deter him.

"Alex!" She managed to gasp. Alex snickered again and scooted further onto the bed, dragging Penny up so she was trapped between him and the wall. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close to him before kissing her again. Penny hummed at the sudden closeness, then slid her arms back behind his neck. They kissed until they were breathless, and Alex pulled back to chuckle and rub foreheads with her.

"Now you're _really_ my girl, huh?" Alex's eyes gleamed adoringly, and Penny ducked her head down to giggle again. She raised it after a moment a pecked him on the lips.

"I am." She nuzzled her face against his. "And you can be my… boy."

They both laughed and snuggled closer together. Alex had never heard of anyone seriously calling their boyfriend 'boy' before, but Penny could call him 'corn' and he'd answer.

"Heh, I am… I'm _all_ yours." Alex sighed and nuzzled her. Penny sighed too and cuddled up against him tighter.

"And I'm yours..." She held his face and smiled more when she realized how powerful the words really were. They were _dating_ now—she had a _boyfriend!_ She kissed him again, and for the moment forgot her worries about her mother finding out about their relationship. If they could prolong Pam knowing about them dating, that would be great, but Penny couldn't truly bring herself to worry anymore; she didn't _care_. She had never been more confident that her mother's fears were misguided than she was now. Maybe there were lingering doubts when Alex was still 'seeing' Haley, or maybe even they had started necking, but _this_ was something definite and committed; she was sure Alex was who she was going to marry, and if her mother was mad about it, that was her own problem.

Alex grunted under his breath while he rolled her onto her back and leaned over her, and Penny couldn't stop herself from shivering. There was just something so _enthralling_ about his need to always end up on top of her. She whined when he kissed down her neck, and assumed the attraction came from reading one too many romance novels.

* * *

Penny curled up comfortably while Alex spooned her, and admired her flowers that were now lovingly rehomed into an old vase. Alex brought his mouth down on her neck for what could be the thousandth time and earned an exasperated laugh from Penny. She swatted at him tiredly, but Alex only chuckled and smiled smugly against her ear.

"Stop it…" Penny whined softly. "Don't you get tired of kissing me?"

She turned to peek at him, and Alex grinned wider at the content smile still pursed on her lips. He leaned over and kissed her again defiantly.

"Not at all." He purred and pulled her tighter against him. Penny laughed under her breath and tried to adjust herself more comfortably. Her blouse was starting to hug her awkwardly from the summer heat, but it was a small discomfort to endure to enjoy his company. Alex had tossed his jacket off in the midst of the heated celebration of their newly committed relationship, and Penny pulled her arm back to lovingly pet up and down his bare forearm, adoring the feeling of his arm hairs under her fingers. Maybe she really _had_ read too many romance novels.

"Hey…" Alex sighed against her ear, and Penny chuckled from the tingles if gave her.

"Yes?" She turned her head further back, and was greeted with another set of lazy kisses.

"It's kinda stuffy in here." Alex mumbled against her cheek. "Why don't we head over to my place instead?"

Penny hummed in thought; it was more private at the trailer, but the temptation of air conditioning was too alluring. She rolled over and gave him an approving peck on the lips.

"That sounds nice." She laid her head against his collar, relishing in the last seconds of humid, muggy bliss, before sitting up and attempting to air out her blouse with a few quick tugs. Alex sat up with a yawn and stretched out his arms, and took the opportunity to eye the silhouette of Penny's back and hip while she rolled out her shoulders. It was tempting to just heave her back onto the bed and start the making out process all over again, but he was a little nervous he might start to stink if he sweated any more than he already had.

So instead he helped her up off the bed, and followed her like a puppy while she opened up a window and moved the flowers to her desk in hopes the light breeze might keep them from wilting. Once she was satisfied with the way the flowers were arranged, Alex stuffed his jacket into his duffle bag and threw it over his shoulder, then took her hand and led her out of the trailer. Penny savored holding his hand while they walked through the field their houses shared, and felt a rush of pride instead of fear when Robin noticed them on her walk home from Pierre's. Penny laid her temple against Alex's shoulder with a bashful smile, and Alex looked down to her with gleeful satisfaction from how happy she seemed to be about them together in public. He opened the door graciously for her, and Penny giggled softly before stepping inside.

Alex had completely forgotten that Evelyn more-or-less knew about his feelings for Penny, but was reminded in horror when she came shuffling out of the kitchen as fast as she could.

"Penny, dear!" Evelyn sang joyfully. She dragged Penny down into a warm grandma-hug and shook her around a bit. "Oh, you look _lovely_ dear—doesn't she, Alex?"

Alex felt his face burn in embarrassment.

" _Grandma_." He groaned, averting his eyes away from Evelyn's faux-innocent smile. He knew _exactly_ what she was trying to do.

"Alex is _always_ talking about you honey, you know that? It's like his eyes are beaming sunlight when your name's in his mouth." Evelyn laughed while she held Penny's hands, and Alex almost jolted out of his shoes.

"Grandma, _c'mon!_ " He tensed, unsure of what he could do to stop his grandmother from embarrassing him further. Penny looked to him with an understanding smile, then bowed her head while her own cheeks started to blush.

"Alex you're all sweaty! Were you working out again?" Evelyn turned to him and started to push him toward the hallway. "Go change your clothes! Honestly, looking all hot and greasy around a pretty young woman!"

Alex tried to sputter out an argument while Evelyn patted him toward his room, but he knew it was pointless. He stared after Penny hopelessly while his grandma took her hand and led her into the kitchen. The good-natured smile and shrug Penny managed to give him before she disappeared behind the wall did little to comfort his nerves. He decided his best option was to clean up as fast as he could, and after changing into a fresh shirt and pair of shorts and scrubbing himself down with a wet towel in the bathroom, he rushed back to the kitchen, hoping his grandma hadn't completely ruined his reputation.

"—and look at him here!" Evelyn pointed to a picture in a small, pastel photo album. "He had the most precious smile."

"Aw, he was so cute..." Penny cradled the album closer and smiled adoringly at his baby photo. Alex panicked at the mere sight of that horrid photo album and dashed over, only to have his fears realized.

" _No!_ " Alex cried out mournfully, seeing that the picture in question was the one of him at age two in nothing but a training diaper, covered head to toe with globs of peanut butter. His ego would surely not survive this.

"Hi, honey." Evelyn smiled at him jovially, happily failing to notice the betrayed glare her grandson was giving her. "I was just showing Penny one of your photo albums."

"And you couldn't show her the one with all of my gridball action shots!?" Alex gestured to the album accusingly, trying his best to ignore the many ridiculous pictures of his younger self scrapbooked onto the pages.

"Oh, this one is so much more sentimental, sweetheart." Evelyn nodded lovingly, and Alex had to swallow his scoff.

"Is there really anything 'sentimental' about a toddler wearing two empty mac n' cheese boxes as boxing gloves!?" Alex huffed with his arms crossed, but his protests fell on deaf ears.

"Come sit down, Alex." Evelyn hummed. Penny looked up to him with a look of endearment, and Alex felt his ego deflate another notch. The two women went back to looking over the album, and Alex sadly accepted his fate. He walked around the back of Penny's chair and plopped down in the remaining seat.

"Ah, this is one of my favorites." Evelyn pointed to a picture of a young Alex sobbing in George's lap. "He didn't want to be away from Clara for even a moment! He burst into tears in the middle of the photo, the little darling."

Alex whined unhappily and flopped over against the dining room table while Penny admired his ugly, crying face.

"He was so adorable. Chubby little momma's boy, he was." Evelyn nodded with a laugh, and Alex groaned loudly.

"Oh, _come on!_ " He complained with his cheek pressed flat on the tablecloth. 'Chubby little momma's boy', yeah, that's a real great way for your girlfriend to see you.

"Oh…" Penny cooed and gently touched a picture of Alex, again naked except for a pair of swim trunks this time, laughing with his mouth full of spaghetti and proudly wielding his spoon for the camera. She couldn't help but adore his messy, happy face, and tried to imagine if her own children would look so excited to be eating spaghetti one day. She felt her cheeks blush at the thought that they might look _exactly_ like Alex, if life played out like she was hoping now. Evelyn got up to get a pitcher of juice from the fridge, and Alex took the opportunity to moan, forlorn. Penny turned to look at his despondent expression with muffled laughter.

"Alex." Penny leaned over more so she was almost level with his face. Her voice was soft, and tempted him out of his misery enough for him to open one eye and look at her.

"I hate that photo album." He grumbled and closed his eyes again. "She _always_ wants to show people that one."

"You were an adorable baby." Penny hummed, and snuck him a kiss on the temple. Alex peeked at her again, and tried to scoff to cover his smile.

"You think seeing me as a little brat covered in food is cute?" His smile curled more, and Penny nodded with renewed pink in her cheeks.

"You weren't a 'brat'… you were energetic, and playful, and needed so much love." She closed her eyes and again entertained the fantasy of having a child with Alex. "I'd love to… have a child like that, someday…"

Alex blinked in surprise, and felt his blush spread further across his face at the suggestion while a smile crept across his lips. He knew Penny wanted to get married and start a family, but the idea that she was really thinking of having kids with him made him nervous in the best way. Not even a year ago if a girl had implied she wanted to have his baby, he'd have run the other way as fast as his legs could carry him and never looked back. But coming from Penny, the suggestion only made him feel much more conscious about their future. He'd never given much thought towards marriage until the past few months, and it was rapidly rising as a priority on his list of goals.

He watched Penny and Evelyn go back to looking over the photo album, and admired how natural she looked talking and laughing with his grandma. She would fit perfectly into the family, if they got married. Alex felt his heartrate quicken while he reconsidered the wording.

 _When_ they got married, he thought. He _had_ to marry her; it was all she had ever dreamed of, and he had promised himself he was going to make all her dreams come true. He was going to buy her a house, and marry her, and have a whole bunch of kids, and she would never be sad again. But before he could start any of that, there was one more very important beginning step he was missing—he had to tell her he loved her. Alex swallowed nervously at just the thought.

He was sure he'd shouted 'I love you!' in excitement to a girl before, but always jokingly; maybe as an over-the-top response to her bringing him a burger or something. This was definitely not on the same level, at all. He had never sat someone down and told them that they mean the world to him, and that he's thinking of spending the rest of his life with them—that was so sappy! He'd have laughed at the idea of having such mushy feelings in high school, but now here he was, trying to figure out how swallow your nerves and drop the big 'love' bomb on a girl.

Alex sighed to try and calm down. It didn't have to be right now, and that fact alone managed to relax him enough to think properly again. But it had to be _soon_ , he reminded himself. He still felt silly that it was Penny that had initiated their first kiss—he had to be the one that said 'I love you' first, he just _had_ to be.

* * *

 **AN:** The boy's determined!

The last chapter was so emotional, I was in the mood for some fluff and comedy this time 'round :3c

Many, many chapters ago I said Alex would get some karma for messing around with Haley and Penny at the same time… I think embarrassing baby photos is the bruise his ego deserved LMAO

Oh! And the two songs at the beginning of the chapter are _"Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka_ and _"Baby Love" by Diana Ross_ and the Supremes 3 I'd def recommend listening to them, I think the scenes are missing something without knowing the melodies hehe

 _LillySteam44_ , THANK YOU FOR SOOOO MANY REVIEWS! ;o;/ I can't believe you left a review for every chapter this far into the story… I really appreciate it! I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the fic so much! ;~; gosh/

 _Guest_ , Haley drama? Possibly ;) I feel like Haley would be more upset about losing attention than losing Alex, though

 _UdonBullets_ , ;v; Thank youu! I tried my best to write each of their emotions as descriptively as I could… and to not make the dialogue too 'stuttery'! Haha

 _Guest (2)_ , HOHO :3c I promise there is smut to come very soon. Thank you!

 _Kasumy-Chan_ , WAHHH;;;/ I'm blushing! Thank you for such a long lovely review! I'm glad you like how the relationship is progressing and I'm so flattered ahhhh I can't words, just thanks so much! q3q

 _Artemi55ed_ , EHEHE thank you! I'm surprised at how many people just sit down and read this whole sucker in one sitting! It's immensely flattering to hear my writing is GOALSAF ahhh q/q thank you!


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